


On The Surface

by CB (shozca)



Series: On The Surface [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Chara and Frisk Share a Body, Child Abuse, Depression, Family, Feels, Female Chara, Female Frisk, Fluff, Frisk Needs A Hug, Gen, Humans are jerks, Hurt/Comfort, I am so sorry, If You Couldn't Tell Already lol, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, My First Fanfic, POV Third Person, Parent Sans (Undertale), Platonic Relationships, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Protective Everyone, Protective Sans, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Swearing, Violence, holy shit so much angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-07-26 09:50:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 36
Words: 77,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7569517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shozca/pseuds/CB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all seems so surreal. Frisk has freed the monsters trapped in their underground prison. A new life, a new beginning. Everything is finally looking up. At least, for a little while. Adapting to their life above ground is not easy. New struggles will arise. Frisk will not only have to learn how to balance her everyday life as the ambassador of all monsters- but also learn how to deal with her unstable mental state.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Migration

   Daybreak peaked over the horizon. The sky projected a brilliant array of yellows and oranges. Sunlight bounced off of every single object around them, creating a comforting glow. The only sound that could be heard were the birds chirping in the distance. The warmth from the rising sun had shined over them all. It was a breath taking view.

    Frisk glanced over at the others. They were all speechless at the glorious sight. Toriel was the first to speak.

     "Oh my."

   "Isn't it beautiful, everyone?" Asgore had commented.

   "W-wow! It's even better than I thought it was. WAY better! Better than I ever imagined." Alphys responded.

   "Frisk, you LIVE with this?!" Undyne had questioned. "The sunlight is so nice...And the air is so fresh! I really feel alive!"

   "Hey Sans? What's that giant ball?" Papyrus asked while pointing to the sky.

   "We call that, 'the sun,' my friend." Sans informed.

   "That's the sun? Wowie!" Papyrus cheered. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting the sun."

   "I could stand here and watch this for hours." Asgore said in awe.

   "Yes. It is rather beautiful, isn't it?" Toriel agreed. "But we should really think of what happens next."

   "Oh right." Asgore said somewhat disappointed. "Everyone. This is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters. Frisk...I have something to ask of you. Will you act as our ambassador?"

   Frisk gave it some thought. Was she really the one qualified for such an important job. Well, she did go through so much to get here. She had been around these monsters for so long. She had helped them, just like how they have helped her...It just seemed so right.

   "Yes."

   "Yeah! Frisk will be a great ambassador! And I, The Great Papyrus, will be the best mascot. I'll go make a good first impression." exclaimed Papyrus as he quickly began making his way down the mountain.

   "Welp. Someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble. See ya guys." Sans waved off as he went in the complete opposite direction. Frisk just rolled her eyes playfully. He would probably use a short cut anyways.

   Undyne took notice of this. "Man! Do I have to do EVERYTHING around here?" She scoffed. "Papyrus, wait up!" She hollered as she speedily made her way down the mountain following Papyrus.

   "Hey Undyne! Wait for me!" Alphys called as she chased after he lover. That only left Toriel, Frisk and Asgore. Asgore noticed the awkwardness of the situation immediately.

   "Whoops." He mumbled under his breath. He waited there, unsure of what to do. "Uh, I should I do something?" he asked. Toriel gave him a dirty look signaling her distaste for him. "Well, gotta go!" He said as he quickly ran off. Toriel watched him grow smaller in the distance and then let out a relieved sigh.

   "It seems that everyone is quite eager to set off." She noted. She focused all her attention to Frisk. "You came from this world, right..? So you must have a place to return to, do you not? What will you do now?"

   Another big question. Frisk had always figured that once she broke the barrier, she would have to be on her own. The truth was, she actually didn't have anyone to return to. She was alone when she started this adventure, but now she knew that she didn't have to be alone anymore. She couldn't resist. Even if Toriel would turn her down, she would still give it a shot.

   "I want to stay with you." Frisk said. Toriel expression shifted into shock. Oh no. She had pushed her luck. Toriel wouldn't want her ba-

   "What? Frisk...You really are a funny child. If you had said that earlier, none of this would have happened. It is a good thing you took so long to change your mind. Hee hee!"

   Toriel wasn't denying her request. She was accepting it!

   "Well...I suppose, if you really do not have any place to go...I will do my best to take care of you for as long as I can. Alright? Now, come along." she prompted as she held an outstretched paw. Frisk grabbed onto it immediately. "Everyone is waiting for us!"

   And the two began their way down the mountain. The mountain that had once imprisoned them all. A place that had trapped them there for ages. They were finally free. Free from their despair and suffering. Free from their isolated corner.

   As Toriel and Frisk began to reach the foot of the mountain, they heard loud yelling. They were still too far away to make out what the voices were saying, but they sounded angry.

   "That can't be good." Frisk mumbled. She let go of Toriel's hand and rushed down the rocky pathway. She turned at a corner and saw what the commotion was.

   A huge crowd was gathering with both humans and monsters. The two sides stood on opposite ends of each other but only a few feet away from being too close. The freed monsters kept their distance away from the humans. The townspeople on the other hand, had already formed a militia against the monsters. They stood there defensively with rocks and other sharp objects in their hands. Ready to attack the monsters if they approached them.

   "Get out of here!"

   "We don't want your kind!"

   "Yeah!"

   Frisk took action and ran to Asgore's side. The king had a worried look on his face, unsure of what to do. Undyne looked like she was ready to fight back and Alphys, Papyrus and Toriel looked just as scared as Asgore. Sans was the only one who was unreadable.

   Frisk had to take action. She couldn't let another war break lose before her very eyes. She walked up, in between both sides and spoke.

   "Stop!" She shouted. The humans looked on with confusion and anger.

   "What are you doing little girl?"

   "Get out of the way!"

   "No, listen! Please! These monsters are peaceful!" She explained. She defiantly stood her ground but her voice was being drowned out with more hate.

   "Peaceful? Look at them! They're going to kill us all!" One yelled.

   "Yeah!" The others agreed.

   "No! They are nice! Just let me explain-" Frisk insisted. The crowd began to boo and hiss at her.

   "Oh so you're on their side?!" 

   "She's a traitor!" Another person shouted. 

   "Yeah!"

   "No, please! I'm not a traitor!" Frisk begged. She felt a small pebble land on her cheek. She felt a slight stinging sensation and realized that they were beginning to throw rocks at her. The crowd began to get more violent as the air was polluted with harsh words and threatening messages. This was not going so well. They hated her. How could they not? She should have thought things through before she brought everyone over. Now, thanks to her, another war was about to start. They would all be sent back. They would be back to square one. She sank to her knees at the thought.

   The barrage of rocks only got worse. Everyone was joining in on the attack. Frisk looked up at the riled up army of humans. One rock hit her shoulder and caused her to whimper in pain. She was sure there would be a bruise there tomorrow. She looked up and saw a man throw a very heavy rock. It was about the size of his hand and it was coming straight at Frisk. Normally she would have dodged the attack like she did countless times in the underground, but this time was different. She  _deserved_ it. 

   She closed her eyes waiting for the rock to make contact with her face but it never came. She did however, feel the rays of sunshine beating on her face subside. She sensed someones presence in front of her. Someone had blocked her from the attack and created a shadow over her. She slowly pealed open her eyes to see who did the heroic deed.

   There, in front of her, stood a familiar skeleton with basketball shorts, pink slippers, and a blue jacket.

   "Alright, shows over folks." He announced casually. He had caught the rock in mid-air and was now tossing it up and down in his hand.

   "Huh?! Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?!" The man had shouted, clearly in shock with Sans' teleporting ability.

   "My name is Sans. Sans the skeleton. And I come from the underground and I come in peace. Look, _tibia_ honest, I don't really appreciate you attacking my friend." He answered firmly.

   "Wait...Friend?...That little girl befriended them?!" One noted.

   "But why?" Another questioned.

   Sans helped Frisk back up on her feet. She shook off her intruding thoughts and cleared her throat.

   "Because I have seen a side of monsters that everyone seems to ignore. They are nice monsters! They don't want to harm us or kill us. They have feelings just like us humans. They are just misunderstood. I fell down Mount Ebott. I met all these amazing monsters and learned about their history. They were trapped underground for generations, and it's all our fault. Yet we are the ones who are angry with them? Somehow, these monsters casted that fact aside and accepted me as a friend. Not because of what I am, but _who_ I am. I think we should at least do the same." 

   Finally, the human side went quiet. Had she proved her point? Did they not agree with her?

   "Well...I...I guess the kid has a point."

   The monster's faces lit up. Even Frisk felt a little relieved at the statement. She was swaying them!

  "M-maybe we...have been a little..racist.." Another added.

  "Y-yeah. We should be ashamed of ourselves."

   The people in the crowd had slowly began to feel guilty about their mistake. They had all apologized for getting out of control and not listening to them. Some people in the crowd were persistent on banning the monsters to live on the surface. But the majority had overruled the negative people and let the monsters live above ground. They were all paranoid and unsure but at least they had stopped their threats of attacking.

   And that was good enough for them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you for reading the first chapter of my very first fanfic. Actually, I had this story posted on Wattpad, but it was too cringy to look at, so here I am, dusting and fixing this thing up. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and I'll catch you on the flipside!  
> ~CB


	2. Freedom

   It took a lot of time to finally get everyone situated on the surface. The humans were not completely accepting of the idea that monsters should live with humans together. Nobody would sell a house to them, or even stay at an apartment. This resulted in most of the monsters retreating back to their underground homes at night, then coming back up to the surface during the day. They didn't seem to mind as much as it bothered Frisk. 

   So one day, Frisk decided that they should build houses for each of the boss monsters, (including Alphys). So they all got to work, and with the help of Alphys' blueprints, they created the perfect homes for each of them.

   Toriel and Frisk decided that they would live together. So Alphys constructed a three story house with five bedrooms. Two would be for Frisk and the ex-queen, and the other two would be for Sans and Papyrus, who Frisk also insisted on living with. That left one extra bedroom for anyone who wanted to spend the night.

   Alphys and Undyne naturally decided to live together by the beach, so they built a beach house. It had a basement just for Alphys' laboratory purposes which worked out great for the both of them.

   Asgore decided to live on his own, so Alphys constructed a log cabin just for the king himself. The cabin was placed on the mountain, just a few minutes away from Undyne and Alphys' house. This way the King could grow a new garden in his backyard, and still visit his friends if he'd like to.

   Things were falling into place. But the only thing that Frisk really didn't like were the interviews with the humans. Every Sunday she would have to attend to a meeting with Asgore and answer a couple of questions from the humans. They often got too personal for Frisk's liking, but nobody said that being the ambassador of monster kind would be easy.

   "Frisk! Tell us, how did you befriend all of these monsters?" Someone asked.

   "Oh! Well, they didn't seem all that bad when I first met them. I was patient with them, and they treated me kindly back."

   "Who are you living with right now?"

   "She is living with Toriel, who used to be the caretaker of the ruins." Asgore answered for Frisk.

   "Asgore, is it true that you had attempted to kill Frisk?"

   "No. He didn't. Next question." Frisk cut off. That was what they always did. They would answer each other's questions if they became too personal or difficult to answer. It was their system.

   "Frisk, where are your parents right now?"

   That struck a nerve. Painful memories of Frisk's past life came flooding back to her. Why did they have to bring that up? Of all things?

   Asgore noticed the terrified look on Frisk's face and he intervened as usual.

   "No comment. Next question please."

   ~---~

   After the meeting was over, Asgore had started walking Frisk back home. It was dark outside, and the fuzzy king was a great body guard. They walked along the sidewalk in the moonlit night.

   "Are you alright Frisk? Is something troubling you?" Asgore asked noticing the spaced out expression the child wore.

   "Y-yeah. I'm just tired." Frisk shrugged off.

   "That question really bothered you, did it?" Asgore pushed. Frisk snorted.

   "Which one?" She said dryly.

   "The one about your parents." Asgore elaborated. Frisk kept her eyes on the ground.

   "Yeah. It's none of their business, so why are they asking?" Frisk thought out loud while kicking a rock.

   "I do not know. I agree they can get very personal sometimes."

   " _Sometimes._ Hah. Well, I can't really complain. It's better than them fearing us or getting mad all the time." Frisk pointed out while they turned the corner to see her house in the distance.

   "That is true. It isn't easy. In fact, I want to thank you Frisk. For everything that you have done for us." Asgore stated.

   Frisk wanted to say,  _"For what? I didn't do anything heroic. It could have easily been some other kid who was way more deserving than me."_

Instead, she just accepted the complement and turned towards her house. The living room light was on and she could see Toriel's silhouette through the withdrawn curtains. 

   "Ah, this is where I stop." Asgore stated just inches away from stepping foot on the property.

   "Really? Why don't you come in for dinner?" Frisk offered.

   "I would, but I think it's best if I didn't. Toriel would have my head." Asgore said in a light tone. Frisk chuckled at his unease towards the protective goat woman. She waved goodbye and went inside to enjoy the rest of her night.

   ~---~

   That night, the silence around Frisk seemed more louder than usual. The crickets were still chirping and there was an occasional car that passed by outside, but it just all seemed...off. Frisk tossed and turned in her small bed. She always wondered why she had such trouble sleeping on the surface. In the underground, she slept perfectly fine. Now, she was slipping back to her old ways.

    _"Where are your parents now?"_  

   That one particular question bothered her more than it should have. She wasn't sure how she should've replied. Angry or upset? Neither option was good, and in the end, she was glad Asgore handled it. She sighed in frustration and pulled the blankets over her. She forced herself to go to sleep despite her mind trying to keep her awake. Tomorrow, Toriel had to go to work. She managed to get her dream job in teaching, so she knew the goat woman would have to wake up early. If she managed to wake up on time, Frisk could probably eat breakfast while it's hot. 

   Still, Frisk was not really looking forward to tomorrow. Since Toriel had started working, Papyrus had been taking care of Frisk while she was gone since everyone else was too busy. Asgore was doing important royal duties, Alphys was doing lots of lab work, Undyne became a personal trainer, and Sans decided to continue his hot dog selling business. Papyrus was the only available one most of the time. Sometimes, Sans would have off from work and stick around, but those days were rare.

   But Papyrus had mentioned at the dinner table one day, that he had finally gotten a new job as a motivational speaker. That meant that tomorrow, Frisk would have to be alone.

   She hated being alone.

   She sighed heavily and fluffed her pillow a bit before laying back down. She felt a wave of sleepiness wash over her and she finally let her eyes slowly close.

   Tomorrow was another day.

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a little short. I assure you, next chapter, shit will hit the fan. >:)


	3. Babysitter

   Frisk woke up a 6:23 in the morning. She still felt incredibly tired, but she really wanted to enjoy breakfast with Toriel's presence. So Frisk slowly forced herself out of bed and left the room. Papyrus and Sans were already gone, but she heard light footsteps in the kitchen signaling that Toriel was still there. Frisk quickly went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, and washed her face. Then she made her way downstairs to the kitchen to see the goat woman putting something in the microwave.

   "Oh! Good morning my child! You're up early today. I was going to wake you later on." Toriel greeted as Frisk sat at the table.

   "Oh...well, I just really wanted to see you before you go to work." Frisk replied while rubbing her eyes. Toriel handed her a plate with two pancakes on it. She then handed her a glass of orange juice, a fork, and some syrup to go on the pancakes.

   Frisk dug in and ate up everything on her plate. The orange juice tasted bitter due to the fact that she just brushed her teeth, but the fluffy and light pancakes made up for it. She barely touched the syrup.

   Toriel pulled out a chair next to Frisk then sat down.

   "So, you probably overheard that Papyrus has a job now," She started. 

   "Yeah...So that means I'll have to be by myself..." Frisk mumbled.

   "Oh, no, not at all! I have another babysitter to take care of you." Toriel cleared up.

   "Oh really? Is it Sans?...Alphys?..." She guessed. Toriel shook her head. "Then...Undyne? No way you'd let Asgore...Is it some other monster I know?"

   "I'm afraid not my dear. Your babysitter is a human, just like you."

   And just when things couldn't get any worse. There. That sentence alone flooded Frisk with dread, and fear. A human. With Frisk. Alone? This was a nightmare.

   But she took a deep breathe and forced herself to calm down. Not all humans are bad. Toriel chose this babysitter, so this person must not be biased towards monster kind. They could be nice. They could be kind.

   But the lingering possibility of the babysitter being bad, was still there. 

   Toriel noticed the pained look in Frisk's expression so she began to ruffle her hair.

   "I know it's not exactly what you would prefer, but everyone is so busy nowadays, If it doesn't work out, then perhaps I could let Asgore look after you every other day..." Toriel said gently.

   "Okay...I understand mom. Don't you worry! I'm sure the babysitter will be nice!" Frisk spoke, trying to convince herself. A smile spread across Toriel's face. She had successfully reassured her.

   "Alright my child. Don't worry, it won't be for long anyways. And how about when I come back, I'll bake you a butterscotch cinnamon pie?" Toriel offered. Frisk couldn't refuse.

   "Yeah. That sounds nice!"

   Soon after, the two heard a knock at the door. Toriel got up from her seat and opened the door. A tall lady with curly blonde and black streaked hair was standing their with a black purse in her hand. She was wearing a dark green sweater with black pants and brown boots. She wore green eye shadow, with a light pink lipstick.

   "Oh hello Shannon! Good to see you." Toriel greeted while letting the stranger inside. "Frisk dear, this is your new babysitter Shannon."

    Frisk didn't say anything but she waved politely.

   "I'll be back around 4:30 to 5pm. There is plenty of food in the fridge, and feel free to watch TV, as long as it is also appropriate for Frisk." Toriel informed.

   "Yeah OK. And Toriel, when do I get paid?" Shannon asked.

   "When I come back, so be sure to do a good job. I'll be back Frisk. Hope you two have fun!" Toriel called out as she exited the home. It was just Frisk and Shannon now. The babysitter gazed around the house for a bit and she finally settled on the couch.

   "Hi...I'm Frisk..." She greeted nervously. Shannon clicked on the TV and began watching a beauty pageant show. She was not showing any interest in Frisk at all.

   "I hope that...maybe we can be friends..." Frisk mumbled. Shannon sighed.

   "Look kid, I'm just here to earn easy money okay? So why don't you just leave me alone." she huffed.

   Frisk felt her heart thump in her chest. Shannon was not nice.

   "I'm sorry...I'm...I'm going to my room to take a nap." Frisk stated.

   "Not without telling me the WiFi password you're not."

   "Oh...um...I'll write it down for you." Frisk stated. She went to the kitchen and got a napkin, then went to a drawer to grab a pen. She wrote the 10 digit password on the napkin and reluctantly handed it to Shannon.

   "Thanks. The goat bitch didn't even mention it to me." She said curtly. 

   "Excuse me, but that was very rude!" Frisk pointed out. The nerve of this woman! She walks into  _her_ house, then insults her family?

   "Oh I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve? I should have expected the ambassador of all monsters would get upset. How pathetic. They hired a kid? A nobody like you? That's rich."

   Frisk felt all her confidence vanish. Shannon was the complete opposite of nice.

   "At least Toriel showed me how to be kind to other's...even when they don't deserve it." Frisk mumbled under her breath. She turned and began to walk away when suddenly she felt something pull her back.

   "What was that squirt?" Shannon hissed as she harshly grabbed Frisk by the arm, pulling her back closer to her. Why was this happening to Frisk? Not again, not again, not again, not again-

   "Please, let go of me!" Frisk demanded with what little confidence she had left.

   "Not until you repeat yourself." She said firmly.

   "No, please, I'm sorry just let me-"

    _SMACK._

Frisk was on the floor in an instant. Her cheek burned and tears started to well up in her eyes. Shannon had backhanded her so hard she was jerked away from her grip. Frisk let out a small whimper.

   It was happening again. Not again. She couldn't handle it. Why, why, why, why-

   Shannon lifted the child back up who was clearly in shock. Fear and adrenaline surged though out Frisk's body.

   "What's wrong brat? Scared?" Shannon taunted.

   Frisk so badly wanted to answer. She was beyond terrified. She wanted to run and scream at the same time but she was trapped in the babysitter's hold.

   "You should be."

   Frisk received another hit to the face. It had more force behind it this time. She felt her nose throb painfully, and she was sure she accidentally bit her cheek from the impact. Shannon shoved Frisk to the ground.

  "Stop! Please!" Frisk begged. She got hit again, much harder.

   Then again. Then again. Then again.

    _Why does this happen to every human adult I know? What did I do? Why are humans so mean?_ Frisk thought to herself as she cradled herself in a fetal position. She tried to block herself from the blows but it did nothing. She let out a cry when each hit made contact.

   Again. And Again. And Again.

    _What did I do wrong?!_

   Frisk wasn't sure how long she was there, getting beaten on the floor. When Shannon finally stopped attacking, Frisk was a crying and sniveling mess. Every thing felt sore and her face burned like fire.

   "Go to your room. And you better not tell anybody about this either! I will kill you." Shannon threatened. Frisk pulled herself together and vigorously nodded. She always had to reply and answer. Even if it hurt to move. She scrambled away from the sitter and clambered upstairs into her room. She locked the door behind her and jumped into her bed. She pulled the bed sheets over her and cried into her pillow. Her body was yelling out in agony to heal the pain. She tasted blood from her bleeding lip, and she felt bruises forming all over. Her tears stained the soft pillow as more and more traumatizing memories filled her mind. Her mother was abusive, just like Shannon. But this was nothing compared to what her mother did. This was nothing.

   Frisk eventually forced herself to stop crying. She could hear her mother's agitated voice in her head.

    _"Stop crying! Stop crying, or I'll give you a reason to cry about!"_

   She stopped. This wasn't a big deal so she needed to stop crying over nothing. This was nothing. Only a few hits. That's not bad at all. Mother would have kept going until she couldn't walk. Maybe until she couldn't move.

   But this, was no big deal. Frisk could handle this. She could go through this for only a few hours if it meant helping out Toriel. Frisk was already an inconvenience, so might as well just deal with this. That way they wouldn't have to arrange or change any of their schedules just for her.

   Her body was numb. Did she already block out the pain? She figured, if she was already in bed, she might as well take a little nap.

   And so she did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Frisk. This is only the beginning.


	4. Boredom

   Frisk had managed to pass three hours of her time by sleeping. When she woke she slowly crept out of bed, being careful not to aggravate her injuries anymore. She felt sore all over but she knew that they were just bruises. They would heal over time. She glanced at her digital clock that rested on her nightstand. It was only 9:18. She still needed to kill seven more hours. 

   This was going to be a long day.

   She reached into her toy box and pulled out a jigsaw puzzle. It was one thousand pieces and it was a gift from Papyrus. The two of them already solved it together, but it couldn't hurt to redo it again. Frisk opened up the cardboard box and scattered the pieces in front of her. She first collected the corner pieces, then the end pieces. She then went on from there. Once the puzzle is completed, it would reveal a picture of a luxurious white sandy beach. Frisk often daydreamed about going on a fun vacation with the boss monsters. She wanted to take them to all sorts of places, but it would have been too much to handle for them, considering they were still adjusting to the surface world. 

   Eventually Frisk completed the puzzle and moved on to playing Jacks, and then solitaire. She got bored of playing the same games so she went to her bookshelf and started reading a small chapter book. She had already read this book, along with the countless others in her collection. She didn't mind.

   Frisk managed to keep herself occupied for another two hours. Five more hours to go, and Toriel would be back. 

   She finished the first book and moved onto the second. She would rather be bored than get beaten.

   Another hour down the drain. Another book. This went on for a while until the clock reached 4:30. 

   Frisk set the book down and leaned close to the door. She only heard the noisy television downstairs, which was a good sign. Shannon was probably still in the living room watching her reality TV shows. Frisk slowly opened her bedroom door and poked her head out into the hallway. The coast was clear so she took the opportunity to tip toe to the bathroom. She made it safely.

   Frisk flicked on the bathroom lights and got a good look at herself in the mirror. She looked awful. Her nose was very red and it painfully throbbed when Frisk touched it. It wasn't broken thankfully. Her busted lip stuck out very easily. It was scabbing over but the dry blood was very noticeable. She turned on the faucet and washed her face with cold water. The blood seemed to wash away which made her sigh in relief. Next, she rolled up her sleeves. There were multiple bruises covering her left and right arm. There were even more on her stomach and back. Purple and black spots were already forming. She sighed heavily. It wouldn't be hard to cover them up. The worst of the injuries would already be hidden under her over-sized purple and pink sweater.

   A sudden knock on the door made her jump three feet into the air.

   "Frisk? You in there?" Shannon called out. Frisk gulped and took a deep breath in.

   "Y-Yes ma'am."

   "Open this door." She demanded. Frisk didn't have a choice. She mustered up the courage to undo the lock. The door opened slowly.

   Shannon stared at Frisk right in the eye. Frisk didn't know what to do. She couldn't run. She was cornered. She was trembling in fear of what was next to come.

   Shannon reached out to her, to which Frisk automatically flinched in response. She felt Shannon pick her up. Surprisingly she wasn't attacked like she thought she was going to be, Instead, the babysitter set Frisk onto the sink counter. 

   "You can stop shaking. I'm not gonna hit you." Shannon said. Frisk was at a loss for words. What was she doing then?

   Shannon tilted Frisk's head to the side, examining her busted lip and bruised nose. She turned on the faucet and grabbed a tissue. She wet the tissue underneath the faucet then quickly shut it off.

   "Hold still." She growled as she blotted her bloody lip. Frisk was in shock. Why was she doing this? After a few minutes of Shannon dabbing at her lip, she stopped, and threw the tissue away. She reached into her purse that she was still carrying and pulled out a plastic casing of powdered concealer. 

   "This should hide the bruises." She mumbled under her breath. She picked up the makeup brush and applied the powder on Frisk's nose. She blended it thoroughly until the redness went away. She packed up her stuff into her bag and lowered Frisk back down.

   "Why?"

   That was the only thing Frisk could manage. She was paranoid, but she was also very confused.

   "Don't get the wrong idea, brat. I only did this so they don't suspect a thing. I still want to get paid today, so you better have a damn good convincing story if they question you. Got it?" Shannon cleared up. Frisk nodded vigorously. 

   "Yes ma'am!" She nervously obeyed.

   "Good. It's 4:45 right now, so Toriel should be coming home any minute now. We're both going to be downstairs on the couch watching cartoons, and you're going to act happy. Understand?"

   "Yes ma'am!"

~---~

   Toriel got home at 4:58 exactly. She was delighted to see Frisk and Shannon sitting on the couch together watching TV.

   "Hey Toriel. How was work?" Shannon greeted. That was the friendliest Frisk had ever seen her. No wonder Toriel hired her. She was a good actor.

   "Oh it was great! And how was your day with Frisk?" Toriel asked while shooting Frisk a smile.

   "She was an angel. We had lots of fun. Isn't that right Frisk?" Shannon said while giving a subtle nudge to Frisk.

   "Y-Yeah! I-It was really fun." Frisk quickly answered. Toriel hummed happily as Shannon threw her purse over her shoulder and stood up.

   "Well Shannon. Thank you very much! I would like you here tomorrow, same time." Toriel concluded as she handed Shannon some money. She quickly took it and shoved it in her purse. She mumbled a 'thank you' while rushing out the door. Frisk let out a sigh of relief.

   "You had fun?" Toriel asked once more.

   "Y-Yeah." Frisk lied.

   "I'm glad. Now," Toriel started as she set her belongings down. "How about I get started on your butterscotch-cinnamon pie?"

   Oh. Right. Frisk had forgotten about her promise to make one. It felt like so long ago, even though it practically happened that same morning.

   "Yes please." Frisk accepted with a small smile.

   And the day continued on like nothing was wrong.


	5. Dinner

   As much as Frisk wanted to hide in her room, and shut herself out from everything, she couldn't. Toriel had this routine, where every weekday, all of the boss monsters would come together at the dinner table and eat. The tradition was so special, even Asgore was invited. Frisk knew she couldn't skip out of this one easily.

   Toriel was making mashed potatoes tonight with some steamed vegetables and buttered dinner rolls on the side. Everyone who had showed up were practically drooling with anticipation. The first to arrive was Sans and Papyrus, although they were always first, considering they lived there. 

   "Nyehehe! I am famished! I had a long day motivating the humans with my speech!" Papyrus announced as the two brothers walked in. They glanced at Toriel who was hovering over at the stove. 

   "Hello Lady Toriel!" Papyrus greeted while he pulled a chair for himself at the table. He sat next to Sans, while Sans sat next to Frisk. 

   "Hello Papyrus. Hello Sans." Toriel greeted merrily while stirring a pot. She had gotten used to Papyrus calling her 'Lady Toriel' that being addressed by that title, no longer bothered her as much as it used to.

   "Hello human! How was your day today?" Papyrus asked, giving his attention to the child near him. 

   "Fine." Frisk simply answered.

   "I heard that Frisk had a babysitter today." Sans pipped up. Frisk nodded. 

   "Really? Was she cool like me?" Papyrus wondered. Frisk shook her head no. Shannon was no where near Papyrus' alley. "I see! I am still superior!" He cheered.

   "Hey...what's that thing on your hand?" Sans questioned. Frisk hadn't realized that he had been staring at her for a long time. She quickly pulled her sleeve down to hide the bruise that covered the back of her hand.

   "Nothing." Frisk replied shorty. Sans continued to stare through Frisk. His face was unreadable and Frisk was beginning to feel nervous. Was he onto her?

   Lucky for her, Undyne had arrived right on cue. The fish warrior made a loud entrance into the kitchen, interrupting their conversation.

   "Sup Frisk!" She greeted as she plopped herself down in a chair next to Papyrus and kicked her feet up onto the table. She threw her hands around her head and began to lean back in her chair, balancing on the back legs. Toriel could see her from the kitchen and frowned.

   "Undyne. Not on the table." Toriel scolded. Undyne quickly put her feet back down and sat correctly in her chair.

   "Sorry!" She said sheepishly. They all knew it wasn't smart to upset the woman who makes their meals.

   Alphys and Asgore came in just seconds after.

   "H-Hey Frisk."

   "Yes, Hello Frisk!" They both greeted. Frisk smiled and quietly greeted hi back. Asgore sat at Frisk's other side, while Alphys sat next to Asgore. Toriel came over with the food and carefully placed everything on the table. The mouthwatering aroma was just fueling everyone's hunger. Except for Frisk. Frisk didn't feel that hungry today. Even when she skipped lunch, she felt more ill than anything. But still. She had to put on an act, so the monsters wouldn't worry about her. As they all helped themselves to mashed potatoes and vegetables, Frisk reached for the dinner rolls. She began nibbling on it as she listened to the excited conversations at the table. Undyne and Alphys were ranting about an anime they were watching.

   "I'm telling you Alphys, I would be so much cooler with an automail arm! I would be twice as cool!"

   "B-But Undyne, you don't n-need an automail arm." Alphys tried to explain.

   "Well then give me a new eyeball!"

   "I think y-you're fine j-just the w-way you are.."

   Frisk couldn't contain the small squeak of cuteness she made. She decided to listen to Papyrus' conversation. He was bragging about his day as a motivational speaker.

   "...was very fun! There were not a lot of humans there, but I was very glad to motivate the monsters of the underground too." He spoke.

   "Give it some time Papyrus. I'm sure one day, the humans will learn to become more accepting of us." Asgore included.

   Frisk noticed Sans staring again. Why was he looking at her so much? It made her fidgety and paranoid. She didn't like it.

   "Hey kiddo. Everything alright? You haven't eaten anything. Unless you count that piece of bread in your hand, heh." Sans noted. Frisk nodded.

   "Yeah Frisk! You're awfully quiet today. Well...more than usual, I mean." Undyne cut in.

   "I'm fine." Frisk reassured them.

   "Y-Yeah! We understand that b-being ambassador isn't e-easy." Alphys added.

   "You can tell us anything." Asgore agreed. Frisk felt a lump develop in her throat. All they wanted to do was help. And here she was, lying to them.

   "I know. Thank you though." Frisk replied. She brushed them off and everyone dropped the subject. Frisk finished her dinner roll as everyone else ate. Afterwards, Toriel brought out the pie she had made for Frisk and cut it into slices. Frisk got the biggest piece, despite the fact that she didn't really want to eat at all. Everyone else had slightly smaller pieces, and were somehow making room in their stomachs for desert. 

   After dinner, Asgore, Undyne and Alphys thanked Toriel for the meal, and went home. Papyrus had helped Toriel wash the dishes before he went to his room to change into some pajamas. Frisk decided to get comfortable too, and went upstairs to shower.

   The bruises ached painfully but the hot water from the shower relaxed some of the tension in her back. When she got out, she dried off and put on her pink and purple pajamas. She recalled a time when Sans asked her why she like to wear those colors a lot.

   "They're comforting colors. Why do you like to wear your blue jacket all the time?" She countered. Sans shrugged.

   "It's comforting. Like a security blanket."

   Frisk was thankful that her pajamas were long sleeve. With that in mind, she flicked off the light and exited the bathroom. On her way to her room, she overheard Sans reading Papyrus "Peek-a-boo With Fluffy Bunny." Sans' voice was a lot more animated when he read to his brother. Frisk smiled at the thought. 

   Frisk laid down in bed, as Toriel came over and kissed her goodnight. She pulled the covers over her and flicked on her nightlight. Frisk was scared of the dark, surprisingly and the monsters were too kind to ask why she felt that way. She appreciated that. 

   When Toriel had stepped out, another monster came in. Frisk was in quite the surprise to see Sans, sitting at her bedside.

   "Hey Frisk. Ready for bed?" He asked casually. Frisk nodded. What was Sans doing here? He never really tucked Frisk into bed; that was Toriel's job.

   "I noticed that you have a bruise on your arm." He said cutting to the chase. Frisk froze. He knew about it. Sans had already caught on hadn't he? "Want to tell me what that's all about?"

   "I was rough housing with the babysitter. I tripped and bumped into some furniture. I didn't want to worry Toriel so...I didn't say anything." Frisk lied. It was a lousy excuse, but it was the only one she had.

   "Ah, I see. Well, don't worry about it kiddo. You're secret's safe with me. Just try to be a little more careful next time, alright?" Sans said while shooting a wink at Frisk. His expression was yet again, unreadable. 

   "Okay. I will." Frisk said as Sans got up from his spot. 

   "Goodnight kid. Get a skele-TON of sleep tonight." He concluded as Frisk giggled.

   "Goodnight."


	6. Lashing Out

   It was no surprise that Shannon was back the next day. Or the next. Or the next...

   In fact, it had been two weeks, and Frisk and Shannon had gotten better at lying. Shannon was still abusive, in fact, she was slowly becoming more violent as each day passed. At first, it started off with some name calling, a few pushes and shoves, then a smack or punch to the face. But as the weeks progressed, Shannon had now transitioned to full on verbal abuse and punching and kicking. Shannon usually aimed for anything but Frisk's face. That would raise suspicion, and now she barely had to use any makeup to cover the facial injuries. Frisk had learned to just accept it, and let her go through with it. As long as Toriel was happy, and if it meant she would no longer be a burden to the other boss monsters, then she could handle it. She could still move when Shannon was done beating her, so it was fine. Some days, Frisk would hide out in her room, but by doing that, she was sacrificing her meal time. There was no chance that she could somehow sneak into the kitchen and eat something. The kitchen was too close to the living room, which was basically the babysitter's territory. Despite it all, Frisk was still determined. Some days were harder than usual and it didn't help that she constantly had to keep lying to her very own family. If they noticed any bruises on Frisk, she would just brush it off and blame it on some "clumsy accident", such as accidentally tripping onto the floor, or bumping into the table. These excuses usually worked. Usually. Sans was extremely hard to lie to.

   "What was it this time?" He said bitterly.

   "The floor was slippery and I ran with socks." Frisk lied.

   "Uh huh."

   Sans was not buying it, but he let the subject go. He figured if Frisk wanted to tell him the truth, she would have when she was more comfortable. All he could do was wait until that day came.

~---~

   "You think that they love you? They hate you." Shannon hissed while punching Frisk right in the gut. Some saliva was coughed up and she collapsed on the ground. "Stupid brat. Bringing all the monsters here. It's your fault!" She shouted while giving a few hard kicks to Frisk's side. She wheezed out in pain. Every word she spoke was followed by another kick.

   "Worthless-"  _Kick "_ piece of-"  _Kick "_ crap!"  _Kick._

Frisk cried out in pain at each hit. She felt a warm liquid rise up in her throat. It tasted of copper. Blood.

   Shannon stopped kicking to get a good look at Frisk's face.

   "Careful Frisk. Don't get any blood on the carpet. It'll stain." She maliciously said. She now pressed her foot on top of Frisk's chest. She applied pressure on her ribs.

   This was nothing. Frisk could get through this.

   There was more pressure added on top of the child.

   This was nothing.

   An unpleasant creaking was made inside her rib cage.

   This was hell.

   "...S...Stop. Please!..." Frisk pleaded. The pain was increasing very quickly. Frisk couldn't stop the tears that were forming at the corners of her eyes. This had gone too far. It wasn't supposed to get this bad.

   "Haha! You know, it's really funny. I get  _paid_ to do this to you. Where's your little goat mom now, freak?" She teased while stepping harder on the rib.

   "Stop!...Please you're gonna-!"

   A loud snap was heard as white electric pain shot through Frisk's chest. All wind that was in Frisk's lungs were gone as she screamed. The sitter lifted her foot and stepped back to marvel in her work. A trickle of warm blood dripped out of Frisk's mouth and onto the floor.

   "Aaaagh! Ah!...Toriel!...Somebody!...Anybody please!" Frisk cried out. Breathing hurt. Talking hurt. Crying hurt. Everything hurt. The pain was too much.

   Then, out of nowhere, a flash of blue appeared right in front of Frisk's eyes. She wasn't sure if she imagined it or not. After all, she was struggling just to remain conscious. But the panicked deep voice was enough confirmation for what she was seeing.

   "Oh my god, Frisk!" Sans had panicked as he knelt down to the broken child. "What the hell happened to you?!" He worried. Frisk couldn't answer the question, but Sans had already pieced everything together. His neck spun towards Shannon who was in complete shock.

    **"She did this to you?"**

   Sans' panic was replaced with rage. He was so angry, that his own voice had changed into something unusually deep and gruff. It was almost as if Sans had another being inside him speaking on his behalf.

   Shannon was terrified.

   "I-It's not what it looks like!" she stammered. Sans stood up on his feet and peered into the sitter's eyes.

    **"Really? Because it sure looks like you were stepping all over Frisk like some sort of personal rug."** He growled. He lifted up his hand and summoned a wall of bones pointed directly at the sitter. Frisk didn't watch as she heard an 'eep!' and then a thud. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to see the damage that was done.

   Shannon was pinned against the wall. One blue bone was stabbing through her shoulder. Another through her leg. She stared at Sans with frightened and pleading eyes. She was still in shock.

    **"Don't move."** Sans taunted.  **"It'll cost you an arm and a leg."**

Usually Sans' puns would have been enjoyable. Frisk would have laughed, had it been any other situation.

   But this was going too far. 

   "Please! Stop! Don't kill me!" Shannon begged with tears in her eyes. 

    **"Stop...? Did _you_ stop when Frisk asked you to?" **Sans shot back. When he got no response he stepped closer to her.  **"Yeah. Didn't think so."**

"Sans, stop."

   Frisk's fragile voice cut through the buzzing atmosphere. Sans immediately stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced behind him to check on her.

    **"But...Frisk-"**

"I don't-" The child let out a pained wheeze. "I don't care...about what she did..I forgive her..."

   Sans said nothing as he looked at the injured child in front of him. Of course. It was just like Frisk to be so merciful. But he was so conflicted. It was taking everything in his power to not rip Shannon to shreds right there. But that would not have been the right choice. Frisk was counting on him to do the right thing. And yes, Shannon didn't deserve mercy. But if Sans were to kill her, or perhaps even injure her, that would cost the freedom of all monster kind. Because it wouldn't matter if it was self defense, because he knew better. He knew that the humans would always win against monsters. Even in a courtroom. He couldn't risk another war. They couldn't go back. Not after everything they went through. Even if he managed to push that aside, he couldn't kill her. Sans couldn't do it. Not with Frisk watching at least.

   He lowered his hand and the blue bones vanished. Shannon was unpinned from the wall. She looked at Sans with paranoia and fear.

    **"Go on. Get out of here. Before I change my mind. And you better leave me and my family alone. Now go."**

Sans didn't need to tell the sitter twice. She had already gathered her belongings and scrambled out the door. Once the door shut Sans bolted by Frisk's side. He grabbed her hand comfortingly. His voice had smoothly switched back into his normal one.

   "Hey kiddo? Can you stand?" He asked anxiously. The permanent grin on his face was hard to show his true emotions, but Frisk could clearly see the guilt on his face.

   Frisk made an effort to sit up but she grimaced in pain and slowly laid back down.

   "That's okay. I've got you." Sans claimed as he carefully wrapped an arm under her legs. He positioned his other hand where her head was and lifted her up bridal style. 

   "Agh!" Frisk whimpered. 

   "Sorry." Sans apologized. He looked down into her face. Frisk looked a little pale, and she was shaking a lot. She was scared.

   "How could I have let this happen..?" Sans mumbled to himself.

   "S'not your fault..." Frisk responded. Sans wanted to argue, but now was not the time. Frisk needed some medical attention, and despite Sans knowing a few things about the human body, he should probably see a professional. 

   "We need to see Alphys." He stated. Frisk made no sound. She was drifting off into sleep. Poor thing must have been tired.

   "Hold on Frisk. We'll get you fixed up."

   And with the snap of his fingers, Sans teleported them both to the geeky scientist's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fucking crazy. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Protective Shell

   In an instant, Sans had teleported both of them to Alphys' house. Alphys was on the couch watching Mew Mew Kissy Cutie with Undyne. They both didn't notice Sans who was standing behind them. Alphys continued to geek out with her girlfriend, and Undyne listened to every word.

   "Oh but she also has the ability to-" 

   "Alphys!" Sans called out to grab their attention. They both jumped in their seat but their heads swung into Sans' direction.

   "Sans, you have some nerve to just-!" Undyne began scolding but quickly stopped as she noticed the body in the skeleton's arms.

   "Oh my god, w-what happened to F-Frisk?!" Alphys panicked as she got up from her spot. She walked over to San's side in an instant and began to analyze the situation. There was so much Sans wanted to say.

   "Please fix her Doc." He begged. He sounded so broken and defeated. Like he was about to just fall apart right there. Alphys quickly pulled Sans into the nearby bedroom.

   "Lay her down." Alphys instructed as she started preparing some things. Sans did as he was told and began to set Frisk down on the bed. She made a pained whimpering sound as he did so.

   "Sorry." Sans almost instantly apologized. 

   "Undyne, get me some m-medication and bandages from the b-bathroom. Quickly!" Alphys ordered. Undyne's frantic shuffling was heard in the distance as she bolted towards the bathroom.

   "Sans, how did this happen?" Alphys questioned as she began inspecting Frisk's injuries. Sans was still trying to recollect his thoughts. All of this was happening way too fast. Just this morning, Frisk was fine. Now he barely made it in time for her to stay in one piece.

   "The-the...the babysitter. Shannon. She did it." He managed out. 

   "T-the babysitter did this?! Oh my god..." Alphys repeated shocked. Sans just nodded slowly, with a blank face. He could see Shannon hitting Frisk replaying in his mind, over and over again. It made him feel nauseous.

  Alphys pushed aside all the surfacing negative emotions she was feeling and cleared her throat. "Okay F-Frisk. Tell me where it hurts." 

  "...My..ch...chest." She sputtered. She coughed a little and she felt her ribs rattling which caused her a great amount of pain. She suddenly tasted copper and realized that she just coughed up some blood.

   "Oh god, she's internally bleeding..." Alphys quietly panicked. Undyne came in the room with a myriad of supplies with her. She dumped the contents on the side of the bed.

   "I brought everything!" Undyne stated.

   "Where else does it hurt?" Alphys continued.

   "My..head...it hurts." Frisk answered.

   "Oh god, oh god, it's all my fault...this is all my fault-" Sans kept repeating over and over again.

   "Sans, get a hold of yourself!" Undyne said while placing her hands over his shoulders.

  "She's right. I know you're s-scared. We all are. But I need you to try and remain c-calm okay? Stay strong. For Frisk." Alphys encouraged. Sans stood quiet but nodded. He took in a few short breathes.

   "...Y...Yeah. Yeah, you're both right. I'm sorry." Sans apologized.

   A hiccuping sound came from Frisk. She was crying.

   "It hurts.." she whispered. Sans felt his soul shatter hearing her so withered.

   "I know Frisk.."

   Tears trickled down directly on the side of her face. They dribbled down and touched her ears which where then absorbed through the bed sheets.

   Sans knelt down by her bedside and started ruffling her hair. He parted a few stray hairs that were resting on her forehead and he tried to hush her quiet crying. Frisk had a hard time trying to stop crying. It hurt to cry. Her body ached and her head throbbed painfully whenever she hiccuped, thus creating a cycle of pain.

   "Shh..shhh...It's alright. Everything's going to be alright..." Sans comforted. Her hiccups quieted. Sans couldn't control his next move. It was happening before he could stop himself.

   He began to sing.

   " _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...You make me happy...when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you...Please don't take my sunshine away..."_

Sans had successfully calmed everyone in the room with the song, including himself. Frisk was no longer crying. Instead she was closing her eyes, ready to fall asleep, which eased Alphys and Undyne's soul. Sans let out a sigh of relief.

   "Woah. Never knew you could sing Sans." Undyne said in astonishment. Her voice was noticeably lowered. Sans had a bright blue tint spread across his facial features.

   "I don't." He simply stated. Sans was very self conscious of his singing. He himself didn't think he was a very good singer so he often kept to himself whenever he did. Undyne and Alphys seemed to disagree.

   "I thought it was lovely." Alphys complemented as she went back to work on Frisk. Her slight smile turned into a more serious expression. She started examining Frisk from head to toe.

   "Frisk, are you still awake?" She asked. Alphys got a hum of acknowledgement in reply. "G-Good. I think you may have a c-concussion, so it's better if you stay awake." Frisk whined. She was so tired.

   Alphys checked her arms and shoulders next. They were heavily bruised and cut. She winced and Sans and Undyne cringed. She was sure there were going to be more injuries on her back and chest area.

  "Sans, Undyne. C-Can you wait outside the room until I'm done here?" Alphys asked. The two nodded and reluctantly left the room. Alphys closed the door behind them, but didn't lock it.

   "OK Frisk. I-I'm going to have to examine your chest if that's okay with you." Alphys stated. Frisk nodded.

   ~---~

   Undyne and Sans waited beyond the door, waiting for it to open. Sans was so exhausted but he couldn't rest until he saw that Frisk was okay. Undyne was also anxious about what was to come.

   "So," Undyne said breaking the silence that surrounded them. "You're telling me, the babysitter did this to Frisk?"

   "Yeah."

   "Why?!" She said outraged. Sans sighed heavily.

   "I don't know. It doesn't make sense. Normal people just don't...don't.. _attack_ other people without a reason." Sans replied. "It just doesn't add up."

   "And where is this lady?" Undyne questioned, ready to track her down.

   "Gone. I gave her a little lesson. She must've run off somewhere."

   "You don't think she'll tell the authorities, do you?" Undyne worried. Sans shook his head no.

   "This won't start another war. If she went to the authorities, then she would be put behind bars too for nearly killing a kid in the first place. And despite how utterly cruel this woman is, I don't think she's down right stupid."

   Undyne couldn't help but keep the grin from growing on her face. A light chuckle escaped her mouth.

   "Yeah..." She trailed off. "But I don't really see you as one of the merciful type."

   "I'm not. But I couldn't do anything because Frisk was there." Sans explained. Undyne shook her head in thought.

   "That kid's really something..." She said.

   "Yeah, she is." Sans agreed.

   ~---~

   After minutes of idly waiting, Alphys opened the door and invited them back into the room. Frisk was lying awake and covered up in tiny bandages. Sans went to her side almost immediately. 

   "Hey kiddo...How ya feeling?" He asked gently.

   "A little better." She replied softly. Alphys cleared her throat.

   "I gave her some pain m-medication for her ribs. She either b-bruised or fractured them so, she's going to be on serious bed rest until they heal. As for her other i-injuries, they're minor and will heal in no time."

   "Cool beans." Undyne cheered.

   "As for the i-internal bleeding, it doesn't seem that serious either. B-but there is something else I wanted to show you." 

   She took Frisk arm which was littered with brown adhesive rectangles and exposed her wrist. She pointed to faint scars of jagged curves and fading bruises. Frisk turned her head away in shame.

   "These injuries are old and are already h-healing. They must have been formed a while ago."

   The whole room fell silent. Undyne wasn't sure how to react to the news. Neither did Sans. Alphys spoke again since nobody said anything.

   "On the other arm-"

   Frisk pulled her left arm away as soon as Alphys went to grab it. She had a pleading look plastered on her face.

   "I h-have to tell them. Please Frisk. We just want to help you." Alphys insisted. Frisk thought it over. She really didn't want to, but they were going to find out one way or another. Plus if Alphys didn't show them, then Sans would have made sure to do it himself when he got the chance.

  She reluctantly gave Alphys her arm.

   "And th-these right here," She said as she pointed to dark scars on her wrist. "Were not caused by someone else."

   Sans looked at Frisk with a heavy heart.

    **"Frisk..."**

Frisk couldn't help but tense at his voice change. She refused to make eye contact with him. She felt so exposed. Her secrets were out for them to judge on. Now Sans was mad at her and there was probably nothing she could do to fix it. They probably wouldn't want to be friends with her anymore. I mean, who would be? Who would want to be friends with a crazy person who hurts themselves intentionally?

    **"Kiddo..Look at me."** Sans said. He didn't sound angry or mad. He sounded very crushed. So Frisk mustered up the courage to turn her head and look him in the eyes.

    **"I had no idea you were suffering this badly. I should've saw the signs. How come you didn't tell me about all this?"** He questioned. Frisk felt tears forming in her eyes. She didn't know how to answer him. She wanted to tell him about all of it, but she thought that Sans or anyone wouldn't like her anymore. She was afraid to be sent away because she hurt herself like a crazy person. As for the abuse, she didn't want to become a burden. Either way, she still failed.

    **"How long has she been hurting you?"** Sans persisted. His voice became softer when he spoke. Frisk couldn't stop the tears from developing.

   "I-it just happened today." She lied.

    **"Frisk, I'm not stupid. How long was she hurting you?"** He persisted. Frisk sighed. She wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one.

   "...Two and a half weeks..." she finally answered in a soft whisper.

    **"Two and a half weeks?...For two and a half weeks she did this to you?!"** He yelled. "Damn it! Why didn't I do anything to stop it? I saw the signs, they were right there in front of me. You stopped eating...you barely talked...the mysterious bruises that you blamed on accidents...I should have known!...I should have known..."

   Frisk was at unease to see the comic so distraught. She wished that everyone in the room would just leave her and never speak to her again, because it would be easier to do that then to talk about her feelings.

   But Sans wasn't done.

   "And why didn't you say anything? Why did you hide  _this_ from us?"

   "Sans, p-please, you're scaring her." Alphys intervened before things got out of hand.

   Sans took a moment to fully examine Frisk's facial expression. She look terrified.

   He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry.." he muttered. "But why did you try to hide it?" He restated more calmly.

   "I didn't want you guys to worry." Frisk finally answered. "You had enough to worry about. I didn't know it would get this bad, I'm sorry."

   They all stood silent for a short period of time. That was one of the things that Frisk needed to work on. Her humbleness was great, but sometimes it was too much. She cared too much about putting others before her, that she would even risk her own safety and comfort for that purpose. 

   "Frisk, you should really t-tell us next time if someone or s-something is bothering you. You could have ended up in the hospital today." Alphys said.

   "Yeah I know...I'm sorry." She responded.

   "Holy shit kiddo. Stop saying sorry. The only one who should be apologizing is me. I should have been there to stop this sooner. Next time- hopefully there won't be a next time- I'll be there for you." Sans vowed. Frisk wiped her eyes and managed a small smile. Sometimes she forgot that Sans was actually just a softy underneath his hard protective shell. He was angry, not at her, but because he felt bad.

   "Okay...Thank you...All of you." Frisk spoke up. Undyne and Alphys grinned.

   "Yeah. No problem Frisk!" Undyne said.

   The tension in the air was quickly disappearing. Frisk was so thankful to have a nice caring family. A real one. Not like her last one.

   "Actually...uh...there is one problem." Sans interrupted.

   "What?"

   "Toriel is going to  _freak._ "

   They all nervously laughed together.

   "Yup."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooooo boy. Sorry for the lack of updates on this story. School and Life have hit me hard and I know that some of you were patiently waiting for the next part. But, anyways, here it is, and I hoped you enjoyed. I'm sure the next chapter won't take so long to post. Stay awesome :D.  
> ~CB


	8. Heartbroken

   Alphys stood in the center of the room with her cell phone in hand. Her phone was opened to her contacts and Toriel's phone number was there, waiting for her claw to press the green call button. Everyone was practically sweating bullets.

   "M-maybe this isn't a good idea. What if we just wait until she g-gets home to tell her everything?" Alphys suggested.

   "Nu-uh! I'm not gonna wait till she gets home! That would be worse!" Sans said.

   "We should tell her now! This way the drive home will wear off the shock!" Undyne added. Alphys pushed the cell phone towards her girlfriend.

   "Great idea Undyne.  _You_ go on ahead a-and call her!" Alphys motivated. Undyne suddenly felt nervous.

   "Uh, you know what? Why don't _you_ talk to her Frisk. Just so she knows you're not dying." She said with a forced smile on her face. Frisk furiously shook her head no. She fake coughed twice but accidentally triggered an actual coughing fit in the process. Her rib was killing her and she started to spit up some blood again.

   "Jeez kid, you didn't have to go and do all that." Sans stated. Alphys went over and helped support Frisk so the pain in her chest would ease up.

   Frisk made a weak laugh despite the discomfort.

   "Sorry..haha.."

   Sans, Undyne and Alphys eyed the phone that was in her hand.

   "So...who's gonna do it?" Sans asked.

   "Not me!"

   "I d-don't want to do it!"

   "Well neither do I! She'll kill me!" Sans argued. 

   "Let's draw straws." Undyne suggested. Frisk rolled her eyes.

   "No, how about we play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Sans responded.

   "I'd rather flip a coin-"

   "Oh for Asgore sake, we don't have time for this!" Frisk huffed.

   "Oh alright, fine! I'll do it!" Sans gave in. He snatched the phone in Alphys' hand and hit the call button. He walked out the room for some privacy and made sure to close the door behind him before he changed his mind.

   The phone rang twice, and she answered.

   "Hello. This is Toriel."

   "Hey Tori. It's me Sans." The skeleton greeted in a serious tone.

   "Oh! Hello Sans! Strange to see you calling. I thought this was Alphys number." Toriel said with pleasant surprise.

   "No, you're right. I'm just using Alphys' phone. I'm calling because something happened today." Sans said cutting to the chase.

   "Oh, okay. Do tell. Class was just dismissed so I have time to chat." Toriel informed cheerfully. Sans sighed.

   "It's serious."

   Those two words alone caused Toriel to go silent. She knew that something was wrong when he said it. Sans was not one who spoke about serious things. He was always joking and making puns so when his tone became stern, she had a feeling of unease grow inside her.

   "Alright." She said, giving him the okay to finally break the news.

   "Okay so today when I went to work, I realized I forgot my cell phone in my room at home. I teleported home, back to my room really quick to go get it. Right when I got there, I noticed muffled crying and screaming. It sounded like there was a fight downstairs. So I slowly got my stuff and listened some more and...and..." Sans trailed off suddenly feeling a chill run up his spine.

   "And...?" Toriel pushed.

   "And, I heard Shannon yelling horrible things at Frisk. There was a loud noise, and Frisk screamed. I teleported downstairs into the living room and I couldn't believe my eyes. Frisk was on the ground all banged up and crying. The babysitter had attacked her."

   The other end of the line went silent.

   "I...I don't know what to say." Toriel stated in shock. Sans nodded even though she couldn't see him do it.

   "What happened next?"

   "Well, I had to protect Frisk so I fought her back. I didn't hurt her really. She ran off as soon as I let her off the hook. I doubt she'll be back." Sans replied.

   "...And what about Frisk?" Toriel questioned while shuffling was heard on her end. Concern and worry was rising in her voice.

   "She's gonna be okay. I took her to Alphys as soon as it was over. She got hurt bad, but she'll be okay." Sans answered. A shaky breathe from Toriel caused Sans to feel sorrow in his heart.

   "Oh, Stars...Okay, okay...I'm leaving now. I'll be there as soon as I can."

   Before Sans could wrap up the conversation, Toriel had hung up, and the line went dead. Sans stared at the phone and sighed.

   He turned back around and entered Frisk's room with Undyne and Alphys still standing by her bedside.

   "Well?" Alphys asked.

   "I told her mostly everything. She's on her way here right now." He summed up. Undyne nodded. 

  "Well...Now we wait."

   ~---~

  Undyne had gotten tired of waiting in one spot so she walked out of the room to get some fresh air. She also decided to call Asgore and Papyrus and break the news to them. That only left Alphys and Sans, and they both didn't seem much for conversation. All three of them were trying to recover from the emotional roller coaster they went through today. Alphys kept busy by constantly checking Frisk's vitals and Sans decided to sit in a chair right next to Frisk, which had a little mini table set up next to the bed. He put his jacket hood up so it would cover his head and he slouched over the table to rest his head in his arms. He couldn't fight off the sleepiness that crept up on him. Frisk was feeling incredibly tired herself, but Alphys insisted she stay awake for a little longer.

   "I don't want anything b-bad to happen. Especially since you've j-just received a concussion."

   The child sighed. 

   "Okay..."

   She coughed a little more soon after that.

   "Alphys, you sure that's normal..?" Sans questioned while still slouching in his chair.

   "W-well it's not normal, but it isn't life threatening. She should be okay as long as she takes it easy a-and we keep a close eye on her."

   "Do you think we should take her to a hospit-"

   "No!" Frisk interrupted. Sans shut his mouth quickly as she continued. "What if the humans think you guys did it? They would take me away from you. You'd go to jail!" 

   Well, she did make a good point.

   "Besides...we don't have the money for that. I don't want to be a burden on you guys..." she said quietly. Sans sat up straight.

   "You're not a burden to us. You would never be a burden to us. Frisk, I don't care if we're trillions of dollars in debt. I would do anything to help you, especially if it meant saving your life. I would rather pay for your hospital bill than for your funeral arrangements." Sans said in a light and joking way.

   Frisk stood quiet. Another good point.

   "But anyways kid, I think you should tone down the humbleness a little, yeah? I know you want to help everyone, but first you gotta help yourself. Make sure you're doing okay before you start worrying about others."

   Frisk coughed again and tasted copper. It made her ribs ache painfully but it soon subsided.

   "So," Sans said once she finished. "Want to tell me what's up with the self harm scars on your arm? They look pretty new."

   Frisk felt her stomach drop with that single question. She couldn't say that she wasn't expecting it- she was, actually. She expected it right when they found out. She just wished that she wouldn't have to answer, period. But she couldn't push off the inevitable. She felt her heart racing but she took a deep breath in, despite her nervousness.

   She opened her mouth to speak, but a loud noise erupted from outside the room.

   "GUYS! TORIEL IS OUTSIDE ABOUT TO WALK IN! HIDE UNDER THE BEDS!" Undyne shouted. Sans glanced at Frisk.

   "We'll continue this later."

   Frisk let out a tiny sigh of relief. Saved by the goat.

   But her relief was quickly replaced with panic. Toriel was going to murder them all for letting this happen to Frisk.

   They all stood silent as they heard the doorbell.

   "C..Coming!" Undyne nervously hollered in response. They heard her hesitant footsteps get quieter as she went to go open the door. 

   They heard the door creak open as they heard another pair of footsteps enter.

   "Where. Is. Frisk?" Toriel said with venom in her tone. The three of them hiding in the room flinched.

   "Oh um! F-Frisk is with Alphys and Sans in the back!" Undyne replied immediately.

   There was uneasy silence beyond the closed door, but it was soon filled with Toriel's footsteps. They grew louder and louder as she grew closer.

   "It was nice knowing you guys." Sans mumbled under his breath. 

   The door slammed open causing the three of them to jump. The goat women had a mixed look of anger and concern at first. Then it quickly morphed into something else. Her anger melted away when she took a good look at Frisk. She had bruises and scrapes that littered her body. Not to mention the abundant amount of bandages that covered her from head to toe. Seeing her lay there unnaturally caused Toriel to feel...

   Heartbroken.

   Despite how heavily injured Frisk was, she smiled sheepishly while Alphys and Sans wore a solemn look.

   "Hi mom." Frisk greeted.

   Toriel dropped her bags onto the floor and slowly walked over to Frisk with her eyes wide in shock and terror. She felt tears welling up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

   "My child..." she whispered. She reached her hand out to touch Frisk's face. It took everything in her power to not flinch in response.

   "...C...Careful with the ribs.." Alphys mumbled loud enough for the ex-queen to hear.

   She reached out and cradled Frisk's head into her arms. Frisk melted into her gentle warm touch. Her soft paws were covering her face, but it was comforting.

   "Oh, Stars," She heard Toriel say. Her voice wavered a bit. "What has she done to you?"

   At that moment, Frisk finally released her hidden emotions. All of her feelings from the past month gushed out in front of her. She didn't stop herself.

   "...Mom...I..." Frisk started. Tears burned painfully in her eyes. They trickled down her face but Toriel's fur had unintentionally absorbed them. "She wouldn't stop..." Frisk squeaked. Toriel began to pat the back of the crying child's head comfortingly. Frisk shuddered recalling the events that unfolded that afternoon. She sobbed loudly.

   "She just kept hitting me..." She cried. Toriel quietly hushed her.

   "Shhh...shh...it's okay...it's over...it's over..you're safe..."

    It took a while for Frisk's crying to finally stop. The goat women kept stroking her hair and shushing her. It worked, and eventually Frisk's crying had ceased. Tear stains coated her cheeks. Her chest felt like it was on fire from all the hiccuping and sobbing. Now she was just in pain.

   "O-okay Frisk...I know you must be exhausted by now, so why don't you rest?" Alphys recommended.

   "I can sleep now?" She repeated groggily.

   "Yes, you can sleep." She confirmed. Frisk's eyes fluttered shut.

   "O..kay..." She mumbled. After a few short minutes of silence, she was out like a light.

   Undyne quietly entered the room while Alphys began to speak.

   "Frisk has a concussion. That's why I didn't allow her to sleep yet. She has many bruises and scratches all over her and the worst of her injuries are from her chest. She may have broken or bruised a rib and she is also bleeding internally. She is coughing up some blood, but it is not life threatening. Overall, despite all this, she will be okay." Alphys informed. Toriel nodded.

   "Thank goodness..." she whispered. Undyne and Sans nodded. "...And...Where's Shannon now?" She questioned feeling anger rise up inside of her.

   "Gone. She won't bother us anymore. And she'll definitely think twice before she crosses paths with another monster." Sans answered.

   "She belongs in jail after what she's done." Toriel growled.

   "Tch. She belongs nine feet into the grou-"

   " _Undyne!"_ Alphys interrupted. Violence wasn't the answer despite how vengeful they all were. It was so unfair that Shannon would just walk away from this without any sort of punishment but what could they do? If they took her to court, she would probably be found not guilty or probably have little to no jail time. 

   All because they were monsters.

   "Look, I know that we're all angry and upset right now, b-but I just want some peace after today. we should all j-just take a break and rest easy until Frisk wakes up." Alphys suggested. Sans nodded.

   "The Doc is right. I'm beat. I think we should all take a time out and chill. Might do us some good."

   "Alright." Undyne agreed. The three monsters left the room feeling tired yet relieved for Frisk's recovery. They left the door wide open just so they could keep an eye on the child. 

   What a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwe! Poor Frisk! The small bean has been through so much already. I'm so cruel and evil. >:]


	9. Group Hug

   Frisk started becoming restless as the night grew closer. Toriel noticed the child's tossing and turning and sat at her bedside to check on her. When she moved to her side, she gave out a whimper in pain. Despite this, she was still asleep, so Toriel decided to wake her up before she hurt herself even more.

   "Frisk dear," she said in a gentle hushed tone. Frisk responded by frowning. "Wake up. You have to eat something. It's late."

   She slowly opened her eyes and focused her vision on Toriel. She was smiling but she could tell she was concerned. It was also dark outside. She could see outside the window of her room and it was night time already. She glanced at the digital clock on the dresser. 7:23pm.

   Toriel pulled out the desk chair and sat in it as she lifted the bowl of soup in her hand. She dunked the spoon inside the broth, blew on it to cool it down, and slowly brought it close to Frisk's mouth. She hungrily slurped it down. Toriel continued this process for Frisk until the entire bowl was gone and devoured. She didn't realize how hungry she had gotten.

   Frisk let out a sigh of contentment as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She heard another pair of footsteps come in, followed by another. Sans and Alphys entered the room with sympathy on their faces.

   "How do you feel kiddo?" Sans asked. 

   Frisk's voice came out raw and hoarse. "I feel groggy...and sore."

   "The m-medication I have you on is making y-you drowsy but at least it's helping." Alphys informed. Frisk nodded. She tried to sit up but instant pain surged through her body. She softly cried out to which all three monsters reached a hand out to take action. They stopped though when they saw her flinch.

   "Try not to move my child. It will be a while until you've completely healed." Toriel said. Frisk slowly settled back into her spot.

   "Anyways...I wanted to let you know that Papyrus and Asgore are waiting outside. They want to see you but, if you aren't feeling up to it then I understand." Sans included. Frisk thought it over. It wasn't fair to them if she kept them waiting.

   She nodded.

   "Okay. Be right back."

   While Sans was gone Alphys checked small cuts and scrapes and added some healing cream to them.

   "Please, allow me to heal those for you." Toriel offered. Frisk didn't oblige as the ex-queen laid her hands on the small injuries. She closed her eyes so she would concentrate and Frisk watched in fascination as her paws emitted a lime green aura. The magic felt cold to the touch on Frisk's skin and she did her best not to shiver under the spell. She observed how quickly the cuts were healing over. Eventually the wounds closed up, and they were now just small marks on her body. Frisk smiled at Toriel.

   "Thanks mom..."

   Toriel smiled and opened her mouth to reply but a shocked gasp cut her off. It was Papyrus who was standing next to Asgore. They both had a horrified look plastered on their face.

   "...Human..? Is that really you?" Papyrus questioned in dismay.

   "Yeah. It's really me." Frisk replied. Asgore slowly brought himself by Frisk's bedside and knelt down to her level.

   "We heard what happened to you today, and we wanted to see if you were okay." Asgore said with deep concern written on his face. Frisk swallowed.

   "Alphys says I'll be okay." Frisk informed. Asgore nodded.

   "But are  _you_ okay? Emotionally speaking, that is." The King elaborated. She swallowed again. Emotionally? 

   "No." Frisk admitted honestly, surprising herself. "No, I don't think I am."

   Papyrus walked over to her and hugged her head just like Toriel did. Asgore joined in too. Then Undyne, then Toriel, then Sans and Alphys. Frisk couldn't stop the tears that were threatening to spill down her face.

   "We're sorry Frisk. We should have been there sooner." Papyrus said. Frisk nodded.

   "It's okay..." she whispered in reply. "It's not really your fault."

   "But if we would have been paying more attention to you, we could have stopped this." Undyne piped up.

   "It's fine. I'm used to being ignored." Frisk spoke out. She shut her mouth quickly, immediately regretting her word choice. 

   "No. You shouldn't have to get used to it. We're sorry." Asgore argued. The others nodded.

   "It's okay."

   All of the boss monsters continued to comfort the broken child until she felt better. It was starting to get late and everyone was tired including Frisk so Alphys began dismissing people home.

   "W-well, thank you all for coming over, b-but Frisk really needs to get some more rest now. Feel free to c-come back tomorrow." Alphys summed.

   Asgore was the first to leave. "Goodnight Frisk. Feel better soon."

   "Goodnight." she called after as he left.

   Papyrus was next to go. "Well, Frisk! I shall go so you can get some rest! See you tomorrow! "

   "Bye Papyrus."

   Toriel was next, although Sans had to convince her to leave. "Are you sure you would not need my assistance throughout the night?" She questioned.

   "Positive Tori. Go get some sleep. Alphys and I got this." Sans assured her.

   "Well," She thought hesitantly. "If you insist."

   And with that, she gave Frisk a kiss on the forehead and left.

   "Welp, I'm beat. I'm gonna let the two of you do your thing and I'm gonna head off to bed. Goodnight you three." Undyne stated.

   "Goodnight!"

   Once the door closed behind her Sans grabbed the chair Toriel was using and claimed the seat as his.

   "Sans, you said that you t-two were going to talk right? I'll leave you to it while I shower and get r-ready for bed. I'll be back to get you prepped for the night Frisk." she concluded.

   "Okay. Thanks Doc." Sans replied. She nodded and left the room.

   The door clicked behind her and Sans sat up in his chair.

   "So kiddo. Let's talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to publish this chapter. School work and stuff you know. But, you know what else? Holiday break is coming! (YAAAY!) So, maybe I'll use my time wisely and type up some more chapters instead of binge watching some shows on Netflix. (We all know I'm gonna do it anyways.) Anyways, thanks for waiting patiently. You, dear reader, are the best. :D  
> ~CB


	10. Talk

   Frisk felt extremely nervous all of a sudden. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sans-far from it actually- but she just didn't like talking about her past. Sans may as well have been acting as "Good Cop, Bad Cop" with the way he was sitting. All he probably needed was a really bright lamp to shine in Frisk's face. She wanted to jump out of her bed and run away from the situation but she probably didn't have the strength to do it. Just thinking about it wore her out.

   "So...Want to tell me why you have those marks on your arm?" Sans said, interrupting Frisk's thoughts.

   "I...I didn't have a happy life before I fell into Mt. Ebbot." She started. Sans sat up straight in his chair to show that he was listening.

   "No? What made your life so unhappy?" Sans questioned.

   "My mom hated me."

   Sans frowned.

   "Why would you say that? I'm sure your mom loved you very much-"

   "No, she doesn't. I know she doesn't." Frisk cut off, suddenly feeling emotional.

   "How would you know?" Sans pushed.

   "Because she outright said it to me." She answered coldly. Sans was at a loss for words.

   "W...what? Why would she say that? You're like, the best kid ever!" Sans stated.

   "No I'm not. Try telling that to my mom, and Shannon. Maybe they wouldn't have hit me as much." Frisk said muttering the last part. Sans had made a weird noise that caused Frisk to look directly at him. His pupils had shrunk and his fixed grin was more strained.

   " _They?...._ _"_   Sans repeated. Frisk looked away and began staring at the floor.

   "Frisk, are you saying that...this whole incident today, has happened before...before you fell down Mt. Ebbot?" Sans asked hesitantly. Frisk did not reply, but that was enough confirmation to make Sans deflate a bit in his chair.

   "Your mom was abusive too." Sans had whispered. He wasn't so much questioning it, but stating it.

   Frisk nodded slowly as she stared blankly at the floor. The intruding past memories made it hard for her to speak. Sans was also at a loss for words as he threw a hand on his forehead.

   "Now you know why I have these scars." Frisk said emptily. She didn't want to look at Sans' face. She felt ashamed of herself.

   "Frisk, you didn't really fall down the mountain, did you..?" Sans said, putting the puzzle pieces together.

   "No...I jumped." Frisk finally admitted. She heard rustling but she still couldn't bring herself to look at him. He was probably getting up to leave. She was so stupid! Sans probably thought she was crazy, and now he didn't want her. Who would want a fucked up child like her anywa-

   Two bony arms wrapped around her head causing her to flinch. When Frisk realized that Sans wasn't going to violently choke her, she eased up. He was still, and quiet. He was simply hugging her.

   "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He spoke. Frisk felt tears welling up in her eyes.

   No.

   She promised herself she wouldn't cry anymore. Crying was a form of weakness and she needed to stop that.

   Frisk simply sat there, speechless.

   "I am so glad you survived that fall." He added. Frisk opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was silence. The urge to cry was growing too strong for her to overpower. Sans retracted from her for a split second, his hands now placed on her shoulders as he examined her expression. A pained look with tears in her eyes, threatening to spill at any second.

   "It's okay to cry Frisk. You can cry okay? I won't judge you at all." Sans encouraged.

   "A-are you sure?" Frisk asked shakily.

   "Yeah."

   Tears sprung from her eyes as a light sob escaped from her mouth. She shut her eyes and let the tears stream down her face. They burned, and the hiccups and sobs only made her chest hurt more, but damn did it feel good to finally let it all out. She continued to cry as the skeleton wrapped his arms around her again. He felt her shake from her bawling, and he felt his heart ache at her distress.

   "It's alright kid....just let it out." He comforted while rubbing small circles on her back. Eventually the crying became too much and she started having a coughing fit. 

   "Easy, easy...Just breathe..."Sans coached. Frisk had to take a few moments to calm down but eventually her coughing and crying had stopped. This just left her in a state of soft hiccuping, so Sans took the opportunity to get up and get a tissue for her from the nearby desk. He handed it to her and she accepted it gratefully. She wiped her face and blew her nose feeling a lot better.

   "You good now kiddie?" Sans asked while throwing out the tissue for her.

   She nodded.

   "Sometimes it's good to cry, ya know? When you bottle things up, a lot of bad things can happen. Like for instance, you start to blame yourself for stuff, and then you do things like this," He said holding her exposed arm and pointing to the faint lines. Frisk nodded again, showing that she understood.

   Sans sighed deeply but then gave Frisk a comforting smile. He rolled her sleeve back down and let go of her arm.

   "Anyways...I'm gonna go get Alphys, she'll set you up for bed, and then we can call it a night. I want you to get some rest, and heal up from your injuries okay? Not that you'd argue, because I'm sure you must be exhausted after that, huh?" Sans chuckled lightly.

   "Yeah." Frisk agreed with a small smile.

   Sans fully stood upright and yawned while he cracked his back. He pushed the chair back to its initial spot before he moved it and made his way to the door.

   "We all care about you Frisk. Don't be afraid to come to us if you have any problems, okay?"

   "Okay...W-wait!" Frisk called out before Sans stepped out of the room.

   "Yeah?"

   "Are you...Are you going to tell Toriel or anyone else about this...?" She asked.

   "Do you want me to?" Sans questioned.

   "N..Not Toriel...Please. She'd coddle me too much."

   Sans chuckled. "Alright kiddo. I won't tell her, but if she does ask, I'm not going to lie to her either. Got it?"

   "Got it," Frisk replied contently. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwwwwww. We all need a Sans in our life. Sometimes it's good to just let it all out. I'd also like to say that this chapter could have been waaaaaay more different, possibly even longer than what it is now, but I'm so glad it went down this way. Initially, I had given more information on Frisk's past, and why exactly Frisk's mom hated her and blah, blah, blah. But you know what? I didn't like the fact that Frisk would just confess all those things suddenly, you know? If it were me, personally, I wouldn't want to tell Sans everything that had happened right then and there. And trust me. Frisk had a really fucked up past. But, as you all probably know, healing takes time, and it would be weird if Frisk finally admitted or told Sans everything all at once. So, in conclusion, I guess we'll have to wait patiently until Frisk feels comfortable enough to share that information. :3  
> Anyways, thanks for reading.  
> ~CB


	11. Recovery

   The next morning Frisk woke up surprisingly at peace. The sunlight that was shinning outside was slowly pouring its way into Frisk's room, lighting up the inside and illuminating off the white walls. The door to her room was cracked open but there was no noise in the house whatsoever. She turned and draped her feet above the hard floor below her. Her chest gave a sharp jabbing pain when she moved too quickly, which caused her to yelp. She stopped for a few moments to let the pain subside before she continued. She place her feet on the ground which sent a shiver to run down her spine. She used all her might to get out of bed, but she managed. With one hand on the bed, and one hand outstretched to keep her balanced, she took the first step forward.

   She managed to walk to the door before it suddenly flew open, startling her.

   "Frisk?! What are you doing you knucklehead! Get back to bed! Your ribs are broken you silly goose!" Undyne had shouted at the top of her lungs.

   "I'm sorry Undyne. I just really wanted to get up already. My legs felt so cramped after laying down for so long." Frisk explained.

   "It's alright, I'm just impressed you managed to walk this far. Those drugs the doc has got you on must be working! Fuhuhu!" She joked. Frisk smiled.

   "Well, they still hurt a lot. But compared to yesterday, they feel a little better."

   The small reptile came through the door after all the commotion. 

   "O-oh! Good morning Frisk! I see that you're feeling better than yesterday!" Alphys greeted. 

   "Yeah, just a bit."

   "That's great to hear. W-well, I'm sure you must be starving, so me a-and Undyne mad some breakfast for you." Alphys informed as she whisked Undyne out of the room.

   "Oh, breakfast sounds amazing right now." Frisk said practically drooling.

   "Eheh! Well, come on then. We'll g-get you something to eat and then w-we'll get you dressed. I'm sure you're not really excited a-about being bedridden, so we're gonna send you back home okay?"

   "Back home? I can go home after this?" Frisk repeated.

   "Yup. There really is no point in y-you staying here if you're already getting better,"

   "Cool!" Frisk said enthusiastically. "So, what's gonna happen then? Are you guys going to drive me back?"

   "We would but Sans wanted to pick you up," She answered.

   "Nice!...By the way...where  _is_ Sans..?" she asked.

   "At Toriel's house. He wanted to stay here to keep an eye on you during the night, but I forced him to go back home and rest." She laughed lightly. Frisk giggled. It was amusing to her how much Sans had became overprotective over Frisk. It was nice.

   "Well, I guess that means he's going to teleport me home. I hate it when he does that.." Frisk complained. Alphys nodded.

   "Me too. You know, he really shouldn't do that. I don't know why he doesn't listen..." She sighed. 

   "Wait, why shouldn't he do that?" Frisk question suddenly concerned.

   "Because Sans' magic is dangerous. It's powerful, and he's really good at controlling it to his ability, but it wears him out. I keep telling him not to do it for that reason. He can seriously strain his Magical Eye if he does too much." Alphys explained.

   "Magical Eye..? What exactly is that?" Frisk pushed.

   "It's basically where a-all his attack power comes from. He can d-do lots of things and I'm sure if he would practice it s-safely then maybe it wouldn't be so dangerous but-"

   Frisk was waiting anxiously for the scientist to continue, but she had shut her mouth and cut her self off.

   "You know, it's not really my p-place to tell you about this. You should really ask him about it. I'm sure he'll tell you lots of c-cool stuff."

   Frisk nodded. Oh she will! She definitely will!

   ~---~

   Sans had picked up Frisk just as Alphys had said. The two were incredibly grateful towards both Alphys and Undyne for their help and hospitality. Sans had taken Frisk's hand which was a sign that meant he was about ready to teleport home. Frisk waved to them both with a smile on her face.

   "Thank you both so much!"

   "Yeah, we owe you one." Sans agreed.

   "You don't owe us anything you goofs. That's what pals do!" Undyne responded before the two had blinked out of the room.

   Going through the teleportation process was tricky, especially with multiple people. Sans had mentioned to Frisk to never ever let go during the process. Doing so could result in a serious accident. She could wind up in a completely different area than Sans whether it be the sky, the ocean or a lava pit. The child didn't like the sound of that, so she made sure to hold on tight.

   It all happened so quickly, but before she knew it, their feet had touched solid ground again, and they were back inside Toriel's house. It took a few seconds for Frisk to regain her balance, but when she found it, she let go of Sans' hand.

   "So kiddo, everyone's busy today with work and stuff," Sans started. Frisk's heart stopped. No. No, no, no, they wouldn't-

   "...And, we need  _someone_ to take care of you..." he continued. Not again. Not. Again. She can't handle another babysitter, she can't do this-

   "...And, well...considering what just happened yesterday, I wasn't about to hand you off to another stranger."

   Frisk stopped panicking.

   "So, uh...let's have a redo huh?" Sans concluded. He stuck out his hand as if he were about to give Frisk a handshake.

   "You're..." Frisk trailed off in shock.

   "That's right! I'm your new babysitter." He stated confidently. Frisk ignored the handshake and went straight to hugging him. Sans couldn't help but grin ear to ear in response.

   "Oh, this is great!...But what about your job?" She asked immediately concerned.

   "Eh. I quit. You're more important than some stupid hot dog stand." He dismissed. Frisk hugged him harder, which caused her ribs to ache a little. She didn't care. This was amazing!

   "Thank you." Frisk whispered.

   "Don't sweat it kid. To be  _frank_ it was a  _ruff_ job. I couldn't  _stand_ it anymore."

   Frisk then burst out into loud giggles.

   Classic Sans.


	12. A Redo

   Sans clapped his hands together.

   "Okay kiddo! What's the agenda for today? Watch TV? Play card games?"

   "...Um...How about a drawing contest?" Frisk suggested

   "Alright. You're on!" 

   It didn't take long for Frisk to get all her art supplies from her room. Even though her chest was killing her and her room was on the second floor, her excitement washed away the pain. She picked up a box full of pencils, crayons and pens. She had a few oil pastels in her box but she never had the chance to use them. She made a mental note of that before she grabbed a ruler and some sketchbooks. She tore out a few pages from it and added it to the box. Lastly, she grabbed two erasers for Sans and herself.

   While heading down the stairs with the box, she had made a loud yelp when the box had jabbed into her side when she accidentally bumped into a wall. Sans was at her side instantly and took the box away from her.

   "Easy kid. You're not fully healed yet." He reminded as he walked down the stairs with her. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Frisk walked over to the couch in the living room. She waited patiently as Sans set the box down in front of them and got himself situated right next to Frisk. He pulled out some paper and gave her a pencil and did the same for himself. When he realized that they needed a hard surface to draw on, he disappeared back upstairs into his room.

   Frisk's eyes wandered a bit as she began to think about what to draw. So many possibilities! She could draw her soundings, she could draw the potted plant in the corner, or the fruit basket that was mostly for decoration, or-

   Her eyes landed on the burgundy stains that had coated the carpet. Blood. They must have forgotten about it. Everybody was probably too busy to clean it up. Frisk felt numb all of a sudden.

    _"Careful Frisk. Don't get blood on the carpet. It'll stain"_

   "Kiddo..?"

   Sans' voice cut through the heavy atmosphere and Frisk's thoughts. She didn't even hear the skeleton coming back down from his room.

   Despite Sans calling out to her, Frisk couldn't look away from the dark red spots on the white carpet. He slowly sat down again on the couch next to her and placed his hand on her knee.

   Her head slowly turned towards him, unsure on how to react.

   "T..Try to focus on me, okay? It'll get your mind off it." He said. Frisk nodded and Sans handed her a clipboard.

   Frisk then decided at that moment that she would draw Sans. She sat in a comfortable silence as they both doodled away.

   She started by drawing the shape of Sans' head. It was circular and very curvy but she made sure not to make his head too wide or too tall to avoid making him look like a potato. She then started with his eyes- his most distinct feature. Sans' eyes were very expressive so she wanted to make them very large. She left two white irises in the sockets and filled in the rest with black.

   A sudden image of Sans' left eye turning blue made Frisk stop drawing for a second.

   "Hey Sans?"

   "Hm?"

   "Do your eyes change when you get upset?"

   Sans looked up from his drawing to meet Frisk's gaze.

   "What do you mean?"

   "Well, like when we were at Alphys and you got really upset. Your voice changed and your eye was making blue smoke." She replied.

   "Ah...My magic is very...responsive." He started. "It acts up when I'm angry or upset."

   "Does it hurt?" She asked. Sans chuckled a bit and returned to his drawing.

   "Not really. It only hurts if I have it going for so long. If anything it just makes me tired is all."

   Frisk found some relief with that answer and went back to her drawing as well. She added some small lines beneath Sans' eye sockets. He looked tired in the drawing. Frisk drew his signature big grin that was plastered on his face to hide his exhaustion.

   "What's the point in having a power that wears you out?" Frisk questioned.

   "The Magical Eye is really strong. I can do all sorts of cool things. You just don't know it yet because I've never had to use it before." He winked.

   She added his nasal cavity right beneath the eyes.

   Frisk wanted to say something but she didn't know how to bring it up without be too nosy.

   "What's that look for?" Sans asked, noting the puzzled look on Frisk's face.

   "Uh...N-nothing..it's nothing.." She mumbled in reply.

   "You sure?"

   "Well...It's...It's kinda..personal? I don't know..."

   "You can ask me anything." Sans stated. He gave her a reassuring smile.

   "Okay..well...Is it..." Frisk put her pencil down momentarily. "Is it true you only have one HP?"

   The look in Sans' face fell for a brief moment before he quickly covered it up.

   "I'm sorry! I knew I shouldn't have asked, I'm so stupid! I'm sorry, that was really insensitive of me, I-"

   "Kid, kid, it's alright." Sans cut off. "It wasn't insensitive, it just kinda threw me off a little is all."

   Frisk made a small sigh of relief. Sans was too nice sometimes.

   "Yeah. It's true." he finally answered, which made Frisk's heart sink. Only one HP? How does that even happen?

   "I knew it...I think when we were back in the Underground, someone at Grillby's bar said something like that. That's why I asked, because I wasn't sure if it was just a rumor or not." Frisk explained. Sans nodded and began making long strides on his paper.

   "Well, mystery solved." Sans said nonchalantly.

   "Why do you have only one HP? Did something happen to you?" Frisk blurted out before she could stop herself.

   Sans' eye lights dilated and he stopped drawing.

   She had gone too far. Frisk wanted to face palm herself right then and there. Damn it, why did she ask a question like that?!

   "I'm sorry! You don't have to answer that! I realized how horrible that question was-"

   "Genetics." Sans answered briefly. He brushed it off and returned to his drawing. Frisk didn't want to push him anymore, so she left it at that.

    _Frisk, don't ask such personal questions! You don't like it when the humans do it to you!_ Frisk thought to herself. 

   "I'm sorry Sa-"

   "Stop saying sorry." Sans cut off. Frisk had to resist the urge to say 'sorry' again, so she looked down shamefully towards the carpet. She glared at the blood stains and felt her self hatred grow. Why couldn't she just be happy? Sans was giving her so much patience and care, yet she still felt like the scum of the earth. A flash of an idea crossed her mind, but she quickly got rid of it. No. She wouldn't resort to that. Sans already was suspicious of her actions. She can't.

   But damn, did she really want to.

   "Look kid...I don't want you to pity me. Seeing that, makes me ill, just thinking about what happened to you that day." Sans said while he glanced towards the dark stains. Frisk picked her head up to look him in the eyes. He looked sympathetic.

   "I'm here to have fun with you, and apologize for not being here sooner, alright? This is your day. Let's make the most of it, okay?" He said lightly. Frisk nodded and gave him a weak smile. I was all she could manage.

  "Now...are you done with your drawing?" He said changing the subject.

  "Yeah. Are you?" Frisk asked back.

  "Yup...Let's show each other on three. One...Two...Three!"

   The tow of them flipped their papers around so their drawings were visible to each other.

   "Wow kiddo! You've got a knack for drawing." Sans complemented, admiring the work.

   "Pfft. You're just saying that to be nice." Frisk doubted.

   "No seriously! That looks really good." He insisted. Frisk shrugged. She didn't think it looked that good at all. It was just a sketch. Nothing fancy.

    "Although...It's not as good as mine." Sans interrupted as he pointed to his artwork. It was a picture of a ketchup bottle, but it was lazily drawn. The cap was just a triangle and the rest was a sloppy cylinder connected to it. The words "ke-chup" where written in comic sans on the side of the bottle. Frisk snorted from laughter for a brief moment.

   "Sans!"

   "What?"

   "I know that you can do better than that! You didn't even try!"

   "I did try."

   "You didn't even right 'Ketchup' correctly."

   "Hey, the 'T' is practically silent so why bother?"

   "Why ketchup, anyways?"

   "It's what I love most!" he said with a cheesy grin.

   "I thought you loved Papyrus most."

   Sans' face turned into a light shade of blue. He was blushing and he had no witty comeback for that one.

   "Heh. You got me kiddo."

   Frisk giggled to herself as Sans reached for the remote for the TV and turned on the television. He yawned loudly as he flipped through the channels and stopped when he found that they were giving a rerun of SpongeBob.

   Frisk put down her drawing supplies and yawned as well.

   "I'm _bone-_ tired." Sans said while glancing at Frisk. She nodded in agreement.

   "Take a nap." She suggested. Sans shook his head no.

   "Ehh...I'm not  _that_ tired." He declined, although Frisk could tell that Sans looked absolutely exhausted. She knew that the skeleton had sleeping problems. She wasn't sure if it was narcolepsy or just flat out insomnia. She felt bad though. She could relate to his struggle. Frisk suffered from frequent nightmares all the time. Seeing someone else who knew how it felt to be tired all the time made her feel relieved in an odd way.

   Without asking, Frisk curled into Sans' arms. He was taken by surprise by this move and stared at her in bewilderment. Frisk laid in front of his body just barely occupying the edge of the sofa. She looked behind him to see him still in shock. She grabbed his arm and dragged it over her shoulders like a security blanket. 

   "Go to sleep." She insisted while she watched his hand dangle off the side of the couch.

   "Heh. So pushy." Sans teased but not obliging. He relaxed a bit in his spot and got comfy.

   "Well...that's what families do."

   Now Sans started blushing again. Frisk learned today that Sans was a monster who was easily flustered when it came to mushy stuff. She held onto that information just for the sake of making him feel sheepish.

   "Alright, alright..." he said completely giving in. He closed his eyes slowly and let the sound of the TV drain his thoughts. With Frisk just cuddling right in front of him, he felt content and comfortable enough to let sleep wash over him. Frisk smiled happily to herself as she noticed that the skeleton began to snore. Well that was surprisingly quick. The poor guy must have been beat. Narcolepsy, Insomnia, Sleep apnea, or whatever; Frisk knew that he wouldn't sleep unless Sans felt like he made progress with her.

  Mission complete.

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mission complete, indeed! I'm actually impressed that I finished this chapter fairly quickly. And right on New Years Eve too! Anyways, hope you're all having a happy holiday, (even if you don't celebrate them.) Hope you enjoyed.  
> ~CB


	13. Nightmare

   Half an hour after Sans drifted off to sleep, Frisk began to feel sleepy herself. She continued watching cartoons on the TV until the show she was watching became white noise, and she felt her eyes become heavy. She noticed that the skeleton's rib cage rose and fell, mimicking the way humans breathe. Lungs expand, lungs contract. But without any organs, Sans technically didn't need to breathe did he? She hummed to herself until she couldn't ward off the feeling of exhaustion anymore.

   When Frisk came to, she was no longer on the couch she was resting on. She was in a very....bright place. The place actually reminded her of a fancy church. The painted glass windows had sunshine peaking through, causing the light golds and burning oranges to light up the entire hall. It was a breathtaking sight and Frisk secretly wanted to capture the moment. A familiar voice spoke out, causing her to snap out of her thoughts.

   "It's a beautiful day outside," Sans had said from within the shadows. Wait...Sans? Where did he come from? How long was he standing there?

   "Birds are singing...Flowers are blooming," he continued as his eye lights glanced towards the colorful windows.

   "On days like these, kids like you..." He trailed off. His eye lights were gone, leaving Frisk staring back at two dark sockets. A shiver ran down her spine, along with the growing sense of unease.

    **"Should be burning in hell."**

The change in Sans' mood caught Frisk off guard. His left socket sparked to life with a mix of cyan and flickers of yellow. His grin was more strained than ever before, and resembled more of a painful grimace than a smile. The soul in Frisk's chest was called out and a fight began before Frisk could even comprehend what was going on.

   The skeletal monster's hand shot up as Frisk's soul flickered in and out of frame, swapping the bright red color to dark blue. She panicked as her surroundings got dark, with only Sans into view. Her body felt like lead, and a bone attack surprised her out of her shock. She felt pure instinct kick in.  _JUMP! DODGE!_

Femurs stabbed her right in the abdomen causing instant pain to shoot through her body. The blood began to pour out of the stab wound, and she quickly covered her hand over it to somehow help the pain and stop the bleeding. She finally cried out in agony as the pain registered through her brain. The bone had fully impaled her, and was still lodged into her stomach. She tasted copper and spat out more blood.The sickening sound of liquid splashing on the floor, echoed throughout the grand hall.

   Sans approached her with no hesitation or regret shown on his face. His feet stopping just inches before her as Frisk felt her knees buckle. She was on the floor now, and red covered her hands and chin.

   "Sans...stop...spare me..." Frisk begged with a withering voice. She coughed up some more blood and looked at him with pleading eyes.

    **"It's too late for that buddy."**

   An animalistic skull was conjured with the help of Sans' Magical Eye. The structure of the dragon skull was massive, and it glared threateningly back at Frisk. Again, Sans' hand raised and the jaws of the skull began to widen. A white ray of light was charging in it's gaping jaws, and it seemed like it was ready to fire.

   A quick hand swoop down, and a hot fiery blast blinded and burned Frisk into nothing but ash.

~---~

  "Agh! AH! S-Stop, STOP! PLEASE-"

   "Kid-"

   "Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry just-"

   "KID-"

   "Don't- I just- I'm sorry! Just STOP! Please-"

   "KIDDO!" Sans called out breaking Frisk out of her state of mind. She stopped screaming when she heard his voice. They sat there in silence as Frisk began to analyze her surroundings.

   She was in the living room on the floor and Sans was grabbing her by the shoulders. His eyes stared into hers, with concern and fright knitted on his face. There was a quiet buzz of cartoons still playing in the background.

   "...Sans..?" Frisk finally spoke breaking the tense silence. Sans did not let go.

   "Yeah...yeah Frisk, it's me." Sans assured her. Frisk went silent again which made Sans even more concerned.

   "Frisk...kiddo, what happened..?" He asked softly. Frisk stared blankly at the wall. She was in complete shock. This was a new one. She never had a nightmare that badly before.

   "C'mon baby bones...what did you see?" Sans asked more soothingly. Frisk did not make eye contact as she spoke.

   "...Nightmare..." she mumbled. Sans brushed some stray hairs away from the child's face and proceeded to wipe the tears from her eyes. She didn't even notice she had tears.

   "Th-there was a hall...you..and you...attacked me." She sputtered. Her face was motionless. Sans' expression faltered slightly.

   "Oh..." He responded softly.

   "You...you killed me."

   "..Oh..." He repeated more worried.

   Frisk was quiet yet again.

   "Frisk, you know, that I would never hurt you, right?" He questioned. When he got no reply, he sat up straight and took her hands. "I know how much it sucks to hear it, but it was just a bad dream Frisk. It didn't happen, and you're safe. Your safe and here with me, watching cartoons on the couch. You're okay. I wouldn't let anything or anybody hurt you."

   Frisk nodded dully. His words went in through one ear and out the other.

   "Kiddo...look at me." Sans ordered. Frisk didn't budge.

   "Kid, please." He said cupping a boney hand under her chin and tilting her head to meet his gaze.

    **"I will protect you with my life."** He said using his serious voice. His voice held so much determination, that it seemed to snap Frisk out of her daze. 

   "...You promise..?" She asked unsure.

   "I promise." Sans agreed. Hearing him promise made Frisk feel better. Sans hated making promises so she knew he was serious about this one. She eased up a little and became more responsive towards him.

   "Hey, you don't look so pale anymore. That's a good sign. I thought I was gonna have to teleport our butts outta here and back to Alphys." He laughed nervously. Frisk laughed slightly too, which caused Sans to relax some more.

   "Seriously kid. Try not to scare me so much. I'm gonna die of a heart attack." he sighed.

   "Sorry, I'll try not to." Frisk replied. 


	14. The Knife

   About one month after the incident with Shannon, Frisk's ribs had healed completely. She was noticeably more active than usual, and she looked forward to having Sans as her babysitter for the day. The carpet that had been stained with her own blood was immediately washed and cleaned until the spot had faded entirely. Frisk had finally went to one of her meetings with Asgore and the other humans when she was healed. The questions were not easy to answer as usual.

   "Frisk, what caused you to miss the last three meetings over the previous month?" One asked.

   "Oh..uh.." She began as she nervously glanced at Asgore. She couldn't tell them. The incident was over and done with anyways, and she really didn't want to drag it out longer than she needed to.

   "She was not feeling well." Asgore answered for her. The system was in full effect.

   "Don't you think missing three meetings is a little much? Aren't you supposed to represent the rest of monster kind?"

   "An incident happened and we would prefer not to talk about it." Asgore continued giving the crowd mean looks.

   "Sorry Mr. Dreemurr, but with all due respect, we would like to know Frisk's answer over yours." One rudely persisted.

   "I don't want to talk about it! Now can we please move on?!" Frisk shouted. The humans didn't push it and simply complied with her wishes.

   Frisk gave Asgore a sympathetic yet appreciate smile after she had taken a deep breathe to relax. Asgore just returned the smile back.

   This was the job...

~---~

   "I spy...something blue." Sans had stated. The two of them were patiently waiting for Toriel to come home and decided to pass the time with some I Spy. The two were sitting on the couch backwards so they could view out the window behind them. 

   "Hmm...That car..?" Frisk guessed as she pointed to the deep blue car parked on the street. Sans shook his head no.

   "...That mailbox?" She guessed again.

   "Nope."

   "...Uh...I don't know. I don't really see anything blue." Frisk gave up. Sans stood quiet.

   "I give up. Tell me." She demanded. Sans didn't make a sound.

   "Hey, don't leave me hanging!" Frisk pleaded as she glanced over at his direction. The skeletal monster was gone.

   "Wha-?!"

   She heard tapping from the other side of the glass, so she spun her head back to the window. Sans had waved while he smiled from ear to ear. Well, if he had ears.

  "Hey no fair!" Frisk laughed stupidly. "I didn't think you would teleport!"

   Sans shrugged casually and teleported back inside. He blinked back into reality like he had never left.

   "You're turn kiddo."

   "Okay...um...I spy...Something gray."

   Sans' eye lights searched outside the window.

   "Is it...that car..?"

   "No."

   "Is it...The neighbor's house?" He said pointing to a small gray painted house. He had met the sweet old lady that lived there once. Frisk shook her head no.

   He looked around the whole area.

   "The sky?"

   "Yeah! You got it!"

   Sans smiled while gazing up at the sky. "Huh. Looks like it's going to storm."

   And boy did it storm. But it wasn't rain that they were receiving that night, but  _snow_. 

   "C'mon Frisk. Let's play in the snow." Sans prompted excitedly. Ever since they reached the surface, they had yet to see actual snow fall. It looked more whiter and fluffier than the snowflakes they got in Snowdin. Sans loved it. It was a reminder to him that he wasn't trapped anymore. That he was free.

   Frisk nodded as she speedily zoomed off to put on some boots and her coat. Toriel had bought her a new one since Frisk didn't have any personal items whatsoever. She fell down Mt. Ebott with nothing but the clothes on her back, and she came out with only a few more pocket items. When Papyrus had asked if Frisk had any objects from before the fall, she said that all her personal items were burned by her mother one day. The boss monsters then took her on a shopping spree of clothes and toys.

   When Frisk was all bundled up, her and Sans made their way to the front lawn. Frisk began scooping up some snow into a large pile while Sans sat on the ground across from her. Monster Kid was making his way across the street when he saw Frisk outside.

   "Yo! It's just like Snowdin, am I right?" They spoke cheerfully.

   "Way better."

   Monster Kid walked up to Frisk, (not before faceplanting,) and watched her gather up snow.

   "Hey, can I help?" They said. Frisk nodded as Sans scooted over so Monster Kid could sit if they wanted to.

   Not too long after Monster Kid had appeared, Papyrus was seen making his way down the sidewalk, his bright red scarf waving in the wind.

   "Hey bro. Welcome home." Sans greeted. "How was work?" 

   "It was going well until this storm came up. The event was hosted outdoors and the humans were too cold to be outside, so my motivational speech was cancelled." He replied glumly.

   "Ah...don't let it crawl under your skin." Sans joked. Papyrus groaned at his brother and looked over at Frisk who was in the process of making a base for a snowman.

   "Oh! Human! How are you doing?" Papyrus asked more happily.

   "I'm doing better. Alphys says I have fully recovered from my injuries." Frisk shared cheerfully.

   "Nyehehe! Good to hear!" The tall skeleton cheered as he sat next to his brother on the snow. He, Monster Kid, and Frisk continued to build the snowman while Sans made a snow mound for his back to lean against and he fell asleep right there in that position. They finished their creation around the same Toriel had parked and got out of her car. She was delighted to see everyone outside having a good time.

   "Sans, Lady Toriel is here." Papyrus said while nudging his brother. Sans yawned tiredly as he stretched out.

   "Hello Sans. Hello my child. Did you have fun today?" She asked. Frisk nodded affirmatively.

   Monster Kid quickly stood up.

   "Uh oh...It's getting late. If I don't get home soon, my parents are gonna kill me! Well, later dude!" Monster Kid called off as they dashed away as fast as they could. They lost their footing and fell flat on their face, but quickly pulled themself back up and took off.

   The sun was setting but the snow kept piling on. Sans and Papyrus stood up from their spot and looked down at Frisk.

   "Let's head back inside kiddo. Don't want you turning into a Frisk-sicle." Sans teased as he held out an outstretched hand. Frisk gratefully accepted it and brushed off the snow from her pants. It was getting cold and Frisk was starting to feel her skin burn from the frigid air. They all walked inside and Frisk and Papyrus took off their boots. Sans however only wiped his feet and kept his fuzzy pink slippers on. Frisk took of her coat and gave it to Papyrus, who was going to take it to the laundry room to wash.

   "Frisk, why don't you go take a shower while I prepare dinner. It'll help you warm up faster." Toriel suggested. Frisk didn't need to hear her say it twice. A hot shower sounded pretty good to her.

   After her long, relaxing shower, Frisk put on her pajamas and made her way to the kitchen. Sans was sitting at the table and Papyrus was helping Toriel cook.

   "Hey kid. All warmed up now?" Sans asked. She nodded.

   Papyrus came out of the kitchen while putting his red gloves back on. "Dinner is done! We're having steak and mashed potatoes" He announced.

   "Frisk dear, can you help set the table? Sans, can you get the drinks out?" Toriel called out. Sans lazily stood up from his chair and yawned loudly.

   Frisk went into the kitchen cupboards and got napkins for all of them. She then got forks and plates for them and set it all on the table. Sans had gotten ice tea out along with regular water and placed it in the center of the table as well. 

   "Okay...now the knives." Frisk mumbled to herself. She reached up towards the knife block and pulled out the shiny silverware. Sans had reached into the cupboard and grabbed a glass cup in his hand, just minding his own business.

   "Hey Sans, do you want a knife?" Frisk asked.

   Sans turned his head towards her and his pupils dilated in alarm.

   He broke the glass that he was holding in his hand and the glass shards shattered into thousands of pieces. Small droplets of marrow began to drip down his phalanges. Panic was quickly rising inside Frisk. An accidental fight had been triggered with Sans, causing their surroundings to go black. Sans did not move. He was frozen in his spot.

   "W-woah...Okay. Sans, don't move. There's glass everywhere." Frisk said trying to remain calm. She glanced at Sans' stats which were projected above his head.

    **.7/1**

Frisk took a step forward which caused Sans to snap out of it.

   "Sans, let's just end the battle." Frisk called out. Why wasn't everything fading back to normal. She didn't want to fight Sans so she was sparing him, and she was sure the skeleton didn't want to fight back. Unless...

   He's hesitating.

    _Why is he hesitating?!_ Frisk worried. She took another step forward.

    **"Stay back."** He growled threateningly. His Magical Eye had kicked into gear, lighting up the darkness around them with blue and yellow.

   Frisk froze. Sans was  _threatening_ her.

   "Sans, I don't-"

    **"Just drop the knife."** He warned.

   Frisk complied, and the knife dropped to the floor with a loud clanging sound. The two of them stood like that for a while until Sans eventually calmed down and broke eye contact. He sighed deeply and his Magical Eye faded away. The fight had ended, with Frisk earning no Exp and no Gold- as expected.

   The tense air around them was broken when Papyrus approached Sans. He picked Sans up away from the mess of shards and placed him back down to a safe area. Frisk was at a loss for words.

   "Brother, what was that all about?!" Papyrus questioned.

   "I..I don't know. I just got a little startled is all." He dismissed. The three of them thought otherwise.

   "That was certainly more than just a little startled. You triggered a fight." Toriel noted with concern. Frisk nodded still unable to speak.

   "I know...I know. I'm fine though. Really." Sans said with his back turned. "M'sorry Frisk." He mumbled as he made his way up to his room.

   "Wait! Sans, where are you going? I need to put bandages on your hands." Papyrus called after. The elder brother did not stop.

   "It's fine bro. I can do it m'self. Anyway, you know where to find me." Sans said as he shut the door to his room behind him. 

   The three of them were left there in shock while Frisk remained motionless.

   What had gotten into him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeeeellll it was nice while it lasted huh? Looks like the angst train is back on track and blowing full speed ahead! Poor Sans. He got triggered. Speeeaking of triggered! I wasn't sure what gender to give Monster Kid, because in the game they don't give them any pronouns or anything. Personally, I see Monster Kid as a boy, but if you see them as something else, then that's cool too! I don't really know why I'm worrying about this. Especially since Frisk and (in the VERY near future Chara,) are both females in my story. Chara and Frisk are both gender neutral in the game, but just because I felt like it, I see them as females. Eh. I'm not very consistent with this whole gender thing hmm? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed regardless.  
> ~CB


	15. Stubborn

   Dinner was uncomfortably tense for Papyrus, Toriel and Frisk. Papyrus did his best to strike up some conversation and Toriel often replied back to break the heavy atmosphere. Frisk was noticeably quiet, and when either of the boss monsters tried to get her into the conversation, she would just nod or shrug, or sometimes give one word answers. Frisk didn't eat much on her plate after the sudden outburst with Sans. She spent a couple minutes using her fork to push the circular snow peas around her plate. She stopped when they collided into the mashed potatoes causing them to be trapped there like quicksand. She huffed out a sigh and began to eat a little more in fear of Toriel worrying about her.

   After several spoonfuls later, Toriel offered pie towards the both of them, to which both of them declined. Toriel shrugged it off and said that if they changed their minds it would be in the fridge. Frisk kept replaying the recent events between Sans in her head. He looked so terrified and scared that she couldn't help but feel guilty for whatever it was she did to cause him to panic. It was only a knife after all.

   Frisk and Papyrus stood up from their seats. Papyrus smoothly swiped Frisk's plate and handed it to Toriel who put it into the sink.

   "Hey guys...Did I do something wrong?" Frisk finally asked.

   "No, you did nothing wrong my child. Something probably just startled Sans." Toriel reassured her.

   "Lady Toriel is right human! I know Sans, and he just acts like this sometimes. He'll be alright." Papyrus agreed.

   "I guess." Frisk mumbled unsatisfied. She had to fix this before things got worse. "I'm going to talk to him."

   "Okay."

   Frisk marched all the way up the stairs and stopped when she reached Sans' room. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no reply. She tried again.

   "What?" Sans grunted.

   "Sans..? Can I come in please?" Frisk asked beyond the door.

   "It's locked." Sans simply stated.

   "Well...can't you just...unlock it..?" Frisk said cheekily. Frisk could tell that Sans was not amused judging from the frustrated sigh coming from the other side.

   "Kid, I'm _bone_ tired. Just leave me be." He said exhausted. 

   "Sans, what's wrong? Why did you freak out during dinner today?" Frisk persisted.

   "Don't worry about it Frisk." He continued to brush off.

   "Did I do something wrong?" Frisk interrogated while raising her voice.

   "You wouldn't understand." Sans replied, also raising his voice.

   "I would if you actually tried to explain instead of pushing me away." Frisk stated bitterly.

   "No, you wouldn't, so just drop it already!" Sans shouted. But Frisk was determined.

   Or stubborn.

   "Sans, I just want to help yo-"

    **"I don't need your help, so why don't you just FUCK OFF!"**

A gasp escaped Frisk's mouth as she stood there in shock. She felt a crashing wave of emotional pain hit her like a hurricane. She was quiet. Unsure on how to respond.

   "...K...Kiddo I-"

   "It's fine." Frisk cut off, her voice cracking. Hot tears streamed down her face as she began to turn away from the door. She was so stupid! Why couldn't she leave Sans alone when he asked her to? She deserved that. She didn't blame him for snapping on her. She knew better than to overwhelm him with questions he didn't want to answer.

  "No, wait, I didn't mean tha-"

   "It's fine. I'm going to bed." She repeated. Her voice was wavering but she did her best to control it. Why was she crying? She didn't deserve Sans' kindness.

   She walked in the opposite direction leaving the skeleton alone in his room while Frisk went to do the same. She pushed open the door to her room and closed it behind her. She threw herself into bed and sobbed into her pillows. Her chest constricted and ached as her muffled crying filled the room. The words kept replaying in her head, fueling her self hatred.

    ** _"I don't need your help, so you can just FUCK OFF!"_**

Her cries died down after a few minutes and soon her sobbing turned into light hiccups. She only stopped completely when she heard footsteps advancing towards her door. She heard a gentle knock to which Frisk rubbed her eyes to quickly wipe her tears.

   "Frisk dear...May I come in?" Toriel asked softly.

   "Yeah." Frisk called back trying not to sound so nasally.

   The door was unlocked so Toriel let herself in and sat on Frisk's bedside. Frisk felt the mattress dip beneath her weight and she pulled the blankets up higher to hide her face. Thankfully it was dark enough in her room to hide the redness in her eyes.

   "How did it go?" Toriel wondered cutting to the chase.

   Frisk shrugged even though she could not see it under the covers and dark light.

   "Not too good. He's upset right now." Frisk said vaguely. She didn't mention to the goat woman that Sans had actually cursed her out. She had done enough damage already.

   "Oh it's quite alright my child. Just give him some time, and I'm sure he'll be okay. He probably just needs some rest." Toriel assured her.

   "Yeah. You're probably right." Frisk said trying to convince herself. Toriel gave her a weak smile and stood up.

   "Well, anyway...It's bedtime, and that goes for me too." She said lightly. She wanted to give Frisk a kiss on the forehead but judging from the child's body language, she thought better of it. Instead, she smiled one last time making her way towards the door.

   "Good night Frisk."

   "Good night..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than the others, but I promise that the next few chapters coming up are longer! (And feelz ridden.) I can't believe Sans cursed at Frisk! The poor bean was already hurting Sans. I wonder how Frisk will cope with this? (Actually I know what happens next but for the sake of not spoiling the story, I'm just going with the flow. :3 ) Anyways, I'm really excited for the next chapter, and I hope you are too! And by the waaaay! I have a [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/cbindisguise) account if you want to go check it out. It's mostly an Undertale blog and I post a mix of audio read alouds, angsty one shots, and art. Thank you for reading!  
> ~CB


	16. Twitching

   Four days later and Frisk and Sans were still avoiding each other like the plague. Sans spent most of his days holed up in his room, which was of course, locked twenty-four seven. The boss monsters had tried talking with him but he only gave one word responses. Even Papyrus had attempted to break through to Sans but his efforts failed. The skeleton didn’t even come out for dinner which made everyone worry even more. Sans would often teleport to Grillby’s during dinner and lunch which probably wasn’t good for his body despite his lack of organs and muscles.

   Frisk felt horrible the whole time. She kept blaming herself for Sans’ behavior. She wanted to make it up to him somehow but after Sans telling her to ‘fuck off!’, she thought otherwise. Sans probably hated her now. The thought alone made her chest constrict painfully. Even now when everyone was working, and Sans would take care of her until Toriel got home, it was alarming to see how cold he grew. He no longer watched over her during those hours, so Frisk was alone again with nothing but her thoughts and the TV keeping her company. When she was hungry, she would have to climb her way up to the cabinets for something easy to make in the microwave. On top of the loneliness and struggle to make lunch, her dark thoughts had begun to cloud her mentality.

   The urge came back.

   Despite all her efforts to stay away from her addiction, she was failing. She was losing control day by day.

~---~

   “…was actually two more people than usual!” Papyrus had cheerfully stated. Frisk was listening to him blab about his day at work. Or at least…she was trying to. She couldn’t help but zone out of the conversation when the urge began to build up inside her. She needed to do it. She had to. It’s been five days and Sans still hadn’t said a word to her. Normal fights with people never last this long, do they? Frisk wasn’t sure. She never had a verbal argument with someone before. She felt so guilty. She felt her fingers twitch by her side. She didn’t have any of her old razors with her but it wouldn’t be that hard to get a new blade. All she would have to do is dismantle her pencil sharpener, unscrew the screws and viola. A new tool at her dispos-

   “Human? Earth to human?” Papyrus called out, snapping Frisk out of her dark thoughts.

   “What?” Frisk said in confusion.

   “You spaced out there for a moment. Is everything alright?” Papyrus asked.

   Frisk hesitated.

   “Y-yeah. Everything’s fine.”

   Lies.

   Worthless, worthless, worthless, worthless, worthless.

~---~

   It’s been an entire week and there was still no progress. Asgore had come over and talked with Frisk about how she was feeling because the boss monsters were noticing her mood change. He made tea for her, and they both sat across from each other at the table. Frisk wrapped her hands around the mug and drank the hot tea despite how it scolded her lips and tongue. She was feeling extra jittery today and the urge wouldn’t go away.

   “How is everything Frisk?” Asgore asked.

   “Everything’s fine.” Frisk simply answered. She put the mug back down on the table when the heat from the cup was burning her skin.

   “Are you still fighting with Sans?”

   “Yes.”

   The king frowned.

   “Well, you know how Sans is...” Asgore consoled. He began to offer his words of wisdom but Frisk began to space out again.

   Worthless burden. Worthless, worthless, worthless, worthless.

   Frisk’s fingers were twitching again. She drank more of the tea to try and ease her nerves.

   It wasn’t working.

   Asgore was talking about his flower garden now, and how he started planting new flowers like tulips and daisies. Again, Frisk could not focus on the conversation too much. Frisk was trying so hard to fight it. Well, she had been trying to fight it the whole week. She already gave in twice. Now that she had started up her old coping methods, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She was being dragged down into the endless cycle of need and regret.

   She couldn’t take it anymore.

   “…you want I could probably pick some for you-“

   “I’m sorry Asgore but I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Frisk interrupted as she already stood up from her chair.

   “Of course.”

   Frisk quickly made her way up the stairs and into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and let out a sigh. Finally, she reached into her pocket and grabbed what she desperately needed to fix her twitching.

   A shiny razor blade that glistened in the light. She marveled in it for a few seconds before pushing her sleeves all the way up.

   There were already fourteen cuts lined up above her elbow on her inner arm. She chose this spot specifically because it was in a well-hidden place. Wrists, thighs and stomach. Those were the three main areas a self-harmer would hurt themselves. Frisk knew better. She knew that if Toriel or anyone found out, it was game over. Nobody would think to check there for cuts and it was fairly easy to hide as long as she didn’t raise her arm straight up. It was perfect.

     She had started off with the pencil sharpener but she found that the blade was too dull and it took a lot of effort to break the skin. She decided to dismantle an actual shaving razor after all and ended up slicing up her fingers to get it out. Anyways, it was in her hands now- ready to be used.

    Worthless burden. Sans would never forgive her. Sans hated her. Worthless, worthless-

   And just like that, she made the first cut. She watched as red beads began to form on top of the mark. It burned but it kept her from thinking about Sans. She deserved these marks anyways.

   Soon after the other cut she made another one right under it. Then another one. She couldn’t stop herself. It was so satisfying to watch, and she needed this. Even if it was unhealthy. Even if she was disappointing more people. Even if-

_"We all care about you Frisk. Don't be afraid to come to us if you have any problems, okay?"_

      Sans’ words rang through Frisk’s head. She made more cuts when the memory popped up. He was just lying when he said that. And if he wasn’t, then it wouldn’t matter now. She did try talking to him! She tried asking for his help on her depression! She tried, but Sans refused to listen or open the door to his room. How was she supposed to get better now without the one person she needed most?!

   A surge of anger and betrayal made Frisk dig deeper with the final cut. It hurt badly but It wasn’t fatal in any way. She didn’t strike vein, and it wasn’t deep enough to cause concern for infection so she shrugged it off. The blood on each line had begun to well up and clot around the edges. She took a nearby tissue and dabbed at the drops of blood until she stopped bleeding. She flushed the evidence down the toilet and washed off the slightly bloody blade. It washed away easily and she rolled up her sleeves and stuffed it in her pockets before leaving the bathroom with a good poker face.

   When she came back downstairs, Asgore was patiently waiting for her with a cheerful smile.

   “Sorry about that? You were saying about your garden?”

   Asgore happily continued the conversation like she had never left. She picked up the mug and drank her now cold tea while giving her attention to the goat king before her.

   Stupid, stupid, stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for doing this to poor Frisk. I hate seeing her this way. :(  
> Anyways, this chapter was incredibly hard to write! I wanted to capture the emotions correctly, and it IS a sensitive topic. Not only that, but in the middle of typing this chapter my computer shut down and I lost almost everything and had to retype it all over again. (It was not a fun time.) On top of that, I have been so busy and stressed out over everyday life things that I haven't had the chance to update as often as I would like to. This is also the reason why I take so long to respond to your comments! (Thank you for them by the way, they really make my day.)  
> One more thing before you go. If you're struggling with depression, self harm or even suicidal thoughts, I want to say that you aren't alone. I may not know what you're going through but just know that it's going to be alright in the end. Don't be afraid to talk to someone either! Talk to your family members, a friend, a teacher, or even me! I'm always glad to help and I want to thank YOU specifically, for helping ME. Your comments, your kudos, your overall support- it means a lot to me. And because I haven't given up yet, you shouldn't either. Because remember- someone really cares about you.  
> Take care.  
> ~CB


	17. Voices

   Frisk eventually stopped knocking at Sans’ door. It didn’t matter anymore to her. Whatever friendship she had created with him had been bulldozed over for a reason she’ll never know. Some days Frisk thought it was unfair. Some days, she didn’t blame him.

  Frisk had multiple cuts lined up neatly on her arm. She had just finished making six more and now all she felt was numb. The stinging sensation kept her grounded but it was quickly fading. In total, she had twenty-two cuts. Some were small. Some were jagged. Some were thin and some were deep. She loved and hated every single one.

   At this point, Frisk was spacing out in her own room just as Sans was probably doing. She laid on her bed staring into the ceiling with her arms behind her head and her foot draping over her blankets.

   She was all alone.

   _“Well, not necessarily.”_

Frisk went still at the random comment. Did she just imagine that?

   _“Nope. You didn’t imagine that.”_

   Frisk quickly sat up in her bed. She was hearing voices. A voice that didn’t belong to hers and certainly wasn’t something she controlled. She waited a moment to see if she would hear it again. When nothing happened, she spoke out.

   “…W-who are you?”

   _“I am someone you have known for a very long time. I am the anomaly. I am the part of you that you had never known would come out.”_

“..What?”

   _“Hmm…how to explain…”_ The voice trailed off. _“You’ve known me before, but you don’t know me now.”_

“I don’t…understand.” Frisk mumbled.

   _“Well, I guess this is a tough subject to wrap your tiny brain around. I suppose I could just show you.”_

   “Show me what?” Frisk questioned. The anomaly didn’t reply. Instead, Frisk’s vison was flooded with hallucinations and flashbacks.

~---~

   _With one quick slash, Toriel, caretaker of the ruins, was down on one knee. There were tears in her eyes. From, pain, or from sorrow, Frisk wasn’t sure. There was a large rip in the fabric of her tunic as she watched her HP drop to zero._

_Frisk felt nothing. No regret. No pain. She just watched in fascination as if it were a show._

_“You are stronger than I thought…” Toriel sputtered._

_She did nothing to help her._

_“Be good…won’t you…m y  c h I l d…”_

_And just like that, her body disintegrated, and she was gone._

_~---~_

_In the cold chilly air of Snowdin, was Papyrus The Skeleton. There was an eerie silence that surrounded the two. Papyrus had a nervous smile plastered on his face as his eyes shifted anxiously from side to side._

_“I, Papyrus, welcome you with open arms!”_

_A battle was triggered and with one steady swing, a large stab was made into Papyrus’ battle body. His neck gave a loud cracking noise as his skull completely popped off his shoulders.  A look of shock morphed onto his features and he stood there unsure of what to do._

_Frisk watched as his HP steadily declined to zero._

_“W-well…that was unexpected. But…S-Still! I believe in you! You can do just a little better! Even if you don’t think so…I…I promise.”_

_First his body turned to ash, then his head. All that was left behind were his garments. His tattered red scarf seemed brighter in contrast with the white snow._

_A twinge of satisfaction surged through Frisk’s body._

_~---~_

_A warm breezed flowed over Frisk’s neck. She watched in amazement as Undyne the Undying had begun to melt into a puddle after she had put up a huge fight. The pleasure she had when killing Papyrus was nothing compared to killing Undyne. She was by far, the strongest one yet, but finally seeing her at her life’s end made her feel proud._

_Not only that, but Undyne didn’t turn to dust like the hundreds of monsters before her. For some odd reason, she melted._

_How peculiar._

_~---~_

_Sans._

_There he was just, sleeping as usual. Frisk inched closer to him with the knife already equipped in her hand- ready to strike. Her injuries burned painfully but she didn’t pay attention to them. This was her moment._

_She made a large stride with the knife and lost her balance when she hit nothing. Sans had teleported just mere inches to the side._

_Mocking her._

_“Heh. Didja really think you’d be able to-“_

_**SLICE.**_

**** _Frisk made another unexpected swipe and struck him. 1 HP. That was all he had. He was a goner._

_Frisk almost felt sorry for killing him. He gave her such a challenge. She thought Undyne was strong, but Sans was in a whole new league of his own._

_He fell onto the ground in pure shock. Red liquid poured out from the gash._

_“So…guess that’s it..huh?” He said panting. Blood seeped between the cracks of his smile. “Just…don’t say I didn’t warn you.”_

_He stood up slowly while giving a few wheezing noises. This was it, and he knew it._

_“Welp…I’m going to Grillby’s.” He said taking off in the other direction. Frisk could have finished him off right there but she knew his body was going to give out shortly. From behind her, she heard Sans say one last thing._

_“Papyrus…do you want anything...?”_

_The sound of wind clogged her ears, and then pure silence followed. He was dead._

_Frisk sank to her hands and knees, dust covering her form head to toe. Sans’ blood still dripping from the knife she used to attack him with. She dropped it and stared at it for a good few minutes._

_Then she burst into howls of laughter. Her unstable cackles echoed in the judgement hall and rang a deafening tone in her ears. Her laughter grew progressively louder until she somehow felt a tear making its way down to her cheek. Now she was crying hysterically._

_She had just killed everyone._

_~---~_

   When Frisk came back to reality she was petrified. She was shaking uncontrollably and had put a hand up to her mouth to avoid screaming in horror over what she had just witnessed. It felt so surreal to her.

   _“It’s amazing what the human brain does to block out traumatic experiences huh? But it leaves me to wonder…if it was so ‘traumatic,’ then why did you do it in the first place?”_ The voice questioned. Frisk said nothing. It took her a minute to find her voice.

   “That couldn’t have been real. You aren’t real. I’m just crazy.” Frisk concluded.

   _“Oh, but I AM real. I assure you that those visions weren’t made up either.”_

“W-who are you anyways!” Frisk shouted back feeling tears forming in her eyes. She felt crazy. She felt delusional. Talking to voices. Seeing things. It was all overwhelming to her.

   _“I told you. I am the anomaly. But if you must know…”_ The voice trailed off.

   Frisk waited.

   _“I go by the name of Chara.”_

Frisk connected the dots.

   “Chara…? Wait…Sans said something about you. Something I can’t remember. Does he know you?” Frisk asked slowly. She felt an odd sensation of déjà vu.

   _“Hah. You really don’t remember anything about the past timelines huh?”_ She said amusingly. Frisk didn’t reply. She knew that she had the ability to control the timelines but she had promised to Sans to never mess with the mechanics again. Especially the reset button.

   Everything clicked.

   The images she saw were real. They were memories. Memories from a timeline before this one. Is this why Sans didn’t want her to mess with time anymore? Is this why she had to promise him?

   The knife.

   The kitchen knife she held out in front of him before their argument must have been it. The reason he had panicked. The reason he hadn’t forgiven her.

   “Oh god…oh god, oh god, oh god…” Frisk whispered in horror. Guilt and realization smothered her like a heavy blanket.

   She had killed everyone in a previous timeline.

   _“Finally getting it now? Sans is the only one who remembers the timelines. Nobody else does. Not even you. That’s why he made you promise.”_

“Oh god Sans…I…I just…Oh god…” Frisk whimpered. No wonder Sans hated her. In fact, she was more impressed that Sans somehow found it in his heart to forgive Frisk and move on. He trusted her. He cared for her and protected her. How? How did Sans not murder Frisk right on the spot? He had every right to. He should have. They would have gotten the seven souls and crossed the barrier anyways. Why did he keep her alive?

   _“You’ve made quite a mess of things, hm? Look, I just wanted to let you know why the smiley trash bag isn’t forgiving you so easily. I would just forget about him if I were you. He doesn’t care about you anymore.”_

The words she said rang through Frisk like the final bang of coffin nails. She felt horrible. She felt sick. She had to make things right.

   She had to pay for this.

   _“I’ll leave you to it then.”_

“No, wait! I still have questions!” Frisk begged.

   When Frisk didn’t get a reply, she sighed deeply as new tears began to spill.

   All alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh! Chara's in the picture now! I'm sure that can't be good for Frisk's mental stability. And yaaay! Timeline stuff. I wonder what will happen in the next chapter. I won't spoil anything but uh...Just make sure you read the tags. :)


	18. Too Late

   Frisk couldn’t take it anymore.

   The next day, Frisk was an absolute mess. She didn’t sleep at all the night before. Her guilt was slowly eating her up and she couldn’t calm down. The things Chara had told her was her breaking point. It was already stressful enough dealing with the nightmares. Now that she learned that they weren’t really nightmares, she couldn’t stand herself. She hated every inch of her body.

   _“I should have done everyone a favor and aborted you!”_

_“Shaddup! Nobody cares about you! Now scram!”_

_“The world is a cruel place so tough shit!”_

   Her mother’s words replayed in her head like a broken record. She was right. How could Frisk have been so blind? Nobody cared. Some people were just good at _pretending_ tocare, when deep down inside, they don’t. Frisk shut her eyes as tears ran down her face. She wished that she would have died when she fell into Mt. Ebott.

   Like she intended to.

   “ _I am so glad you survived that fall.”_

Bullshit.

   If that wasn’t bad enough, Frisk’s worse fear had come true.

   The cuts weren’t helping anymore.

   Before, after Frisk would make the fourth cut, she would feel better and simply leave it at that. As the days passed, she slowly found herself cutting more lines.

   Now it flat out wasn’t working anymore. Her only coping method that worked was gone.

   She was done with the disappointments.

   This would be her final day of living.

   Frisk was tempted to write a lengthy letter explaining why she had decided to do this but it was too painful for her. She had the pencil in her hand, the led pressing firmly against the notebook paper but when she started writing, her tears clouded her vision and fell onto the paper. She quickly ripped out the page, crumbled it and tossed it into her trash bin. She took a deep breath and wrote a brief message onto the paper. She read it, ripped it out, then folded it into a neat square. On the front of the paper she wrote, “Read Me.”

   She walked out of her room and put the note onto the kitchen table. It was a weekday so nobody besides Sans and herself were home. Now was the perfect time to do it.

   Grabbing a large kitchen knife, Frisk made her way back into her room and locked the door behind her. She stood in the center of the room taking in her surroundings. Never again will she leave this room. Never again will she see any of the boss monster’s faces.

   She started to silently cry at the thought. She would miss them. Every single one, without a doubt in her mind. But the question was…would they miss _her?_

   Probably not.

   Well…maybe a little. Maybe at first they would mourn her death, but she was sure that they would quickly get over it. They had each other after all. They would be just fine.

   Frisk rolled up her sleeves and examined her cuts. All thirty-one of them. The older ones didn’t look so bad compared to the newer ones. The new cuts were still swollen and red and burned terribly when she touched them. Each one progressively got deeper than the last. They covered her upper arm and at this point, there wasn’t much room for more. It didn’t matter anyways.

   This time she could use her wrists. She didn’t have to worry about them finding out anymore. At this point, it didn’t matter.

   Frisk would have preferred a less painful way to die, like sleeping pills or something quick like a bullet to the head, but she didn’t have access to either. Tying a noose and hanging herself didn’t seem any more appealing. She didn’t really know how to tie a noose anyways, and even if she did, she was much too short to string it up someplace high enough for her to hang. She heard stories of people drinking cleaning products but those usually didn’t end pretty. Frisk didn’t like the idea of her stomach burning from the inside out. And well…jumping didn’t work for her before, so she wasn’t going to try again.

   Pain however, wasn’t up to her. She wasn’t worried about how much it hurt. In fact, she wanted it to hurt.

   Because she deserved it.

   Before she could give herself any second thoughts, she made the first slash on her wrist. It cut deep and she dragged it across slowly. Tears welled up in her eyes from the extreme pain. Crimson liquid oozed out from the injury. She made another mark under it, just as deep. When the knife hit something solid, she cried out loudly. She quickly bit her lip to avoid making anymore noise as she watched her blood spill out steadily. It hurt so bad. Almost enough to make her stop, but she had to keep going. No matter how much it hurt.

   She made another gash under that one and struck vein once again. She yelled out in pain and sobbed loudly. It burned horribly and the injuries stung when the air hit it. The blood that was pouring out had begun dripping onto the floor creating a small pool surrounding her.

   She made two more marks, and by that point Frisk was beginning to feel light headed. She made more cuts on her other arm but they weren’t as deep as the first ones. When black dots started to blur her vision, she decided to make one last mark.

  The last one was the deepest one yet. She yelped in pain but finally decided to drop the knife to the floor. The injuries she had done to herself were hurting less by the second, but the blood was still rapidly pouring out. Frisk felt like she was floating away at this point. Her ears were ringing and even though she had hurt herself badly, she began to feel numb again.

  She slowly exhaled and felt incredibly tired. She stood there for a couple minutes just watching the red drip down her arms and onto the floor.

   Eventually, she was too tired to stand, and she felt her body sway.

   Then, everything went dark.

   ~---~

   At 3:00pm Sans had just teleported back from Grillby’s. It was Sans’ favorite place in the Underground. Nothing bad happened at Grillby’s. Everyone was smiling, everyone was laughing. Monsters were playing cards and just having a good time. It was also where Sans could vent his feelings out. He was glad that when the barrier was broken, Grillby decided to keep his bar in the Underground. It was open to both monsters and humans, but no human was brave enough to go in yet.

   Sans was thankful for the positive atmosphere. Grillby and him were very close friends and had known each other since they were kids. Grillby didn’t speak much, but he was a great listener. And when he did speak, it was usually helpful advice. Sans had turned to him during the time loop and his other rough times. This was no exception.

   For the past week, Sans had been slowly but surely opening up to Grillby about his problems at home. Specifically, with Frisk.

   “Again? This isn’t about the timelines is it?” Grillby asked while drying a glass.

   “No…well…yes? I dunno. I guess…” Sans mumbled while holding onto a bottle of regular ketchup.

   He explained to the fire element that he had gotten triggered about a past event from a different timeline and over reacted.

   “Well…I mean, I can see how that would upset you. You had every right to be upset.” Grillby consoled.

   Sans sighed and shook his head no.

   “Grillbz. I don’t think the kid can remember the timelines when they reset…I said something really awful to her, and I feel so bad for saying it. She doesn’t even know why I’m upset.” Sans informed. Grillby tilted his head to the side and stopped what he was doing. He waited for Sans to continue.

   “…I told her to ‘eff off.”

   Grillby’s flame changed slightly more yellow. He was shocked but not upset or angry with Sans.

   “And...?” He questioned.

    “I haven’t seen her face since. I feel so bad, but I’m afraid that she hates my guts and doesn’t want to see me.” Sans said as he shot back some of the sweet and salty ketchup.

   “Sans, you don’t have guts.” Grillby said trying to keep the mood light.

   “Heh. Funny guy, huh? That’s supposed to be my job.”

   “I suppose.”

   Day by day, the two of them had been trying to find a way to work it out.

   “Just ask. At this rate, you’re both assuming that you both hate each other. Just knock on her door, offer her some lunch, and see if she comes out. Then from there you can talk.” Grillby summed up.

   And that’s what he planned to do right now.

   Sans had brought a brown paper bag with him filled with French fries from Grillby’s just for Frisk. He was mentally kicking himself for waiting so long to apologize but he knew that it was for his own well being. He wasn't mentally prepared to face Frisk yesterday, let alone the days before then. He wasn’t even mentally prepared to face his own brother. Sans had felt so horrible the past couple of days. He couldn’t sleep and he felt sick. Even now, that one trip to Grillby’s and back took a lot out of him. No more teleporting for the day. Not until he got some more sleep and felt better. At the time, there was no way he could sit down and explain why he had reacted so badly when he did.

   Until now.  

    When Sans blinked back to his room he was a bit out of breath. He took a minute to catch his breath and quickly walked out into the hallway. He went up to Frisk’s door and knocked on it three times.

   “Hey…Frisk? You in there? It’s me…the bone head who yelled at you. I want to talk...and say sorry…for being an asshole.”

   There was no response.

   “I have fries from Grillby’s.”

   There was silence.

   _Hmm. That usually gets the kid. Fries are her favorite._

“Look…I get it...you’re probably really upset with me, and you have every right to be angry. I said some harsh and cruel things that must have hurt you. I understand. But I just want to let you know, that I’m truly sorry…sorry for everything. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I’d like to at least talk ya’know?...Anyways, I’ll be downstairs watching TV. I’ll leave your fries on the table.”

   He walked away from the door and went downstairs to the kitchen. He set the paper bag down and noticed a white slip of paper that said, “Read Me.”

   Curiosity got the better of him and he unfolded the note.

   **_“I am so sorry it had to end this way. This isn’t anyone’s fault but mine. I love you all. Goodbye.”_**

Sans felt his soul stop beating.

   What? What did that mean?! Did Frisk write that- Wait-What does she mean goodbye- oh no-

   Sans bolted up the stairs back to Frisk’s door, leaving the note behind. He pounded on the door as hard as he could.

   “Kid?...Kiddo?!” He called out growing more and more panicked by the second. His Magical Eye kicked on, and blue smoke emitted from his left eye.

   **“Frisk- Kiddo! What does that note mean?! Frisk! Respond! Please! This isn’t funny!”** Sans begged. He tried to turn the doorknob but it was locked. He pounded harder on the door.

   **“Kid. I _will_ break this door down if I have to! Open the door!”**

There was no response, so Sans took action.

   He summoned a femur and bashed at the door until the lock gave out. The door finally creaked open to display a sight Sans was not prepared for.

   Frisk laying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her, and a bloody knife not too far from her reach.

   Sans screamed out in horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really tough chapter to write. It gets me really sad when people take their own lives. Making Frisk, a person who is just so merciful and kind, kill them self was...hard. I don't like seeing people hurt when they don't even deserve it. And poor Sans, he kinda caused it. Despite how much of an asshole Sans had been to Frisk recently, he really does care about her. I mean, the guy literally lost sleep and was trying to fix the situation the whole time. Damn it. Feelings are complicated.  
> Another thing! Writing the actual suicide scene...yeeeaaah. I had to take a break and come back to it because I was legitimately gritting my teeth in pain as I typed it out. That was not fun to write. (I'm sure that wasn't exactly pleasant to read either...)  
> Anyways, I have the next chapter already halfway done, because I know I left you all on a cliffhanger. I know it wouldn't be fair to leave you all like that for another week, so the next chapter should be coming up VERY soon. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and just overall supporting the story. You all mean so much to me. <3  
> ~CB


	19. Counting

  Sans quickly ran to Frisk’s side and dropped to his knees. He scooped her up and cradled her. She was cold, and her skin was pale. She had drying tears covering her face.

   **“KID! Oh, stars FRISK! Oh, please no…no, no, no, no!”** Sans panicked. Neon blue tears made their way down his cheekbones.

   **“Kiddo! PLEASE! Wake up! WAKE UP!”** He pleaded. Blood was soaking into his clothing but he didn’t care. This couldn’t be happening!

   **“Baby bones, please! Don’t leave me! You can’t!”** He cried. He set her down back onto the ground and recalled some of the medical books he had read on humans in the past. Skeletons and humans were similar in a lot of ways, but Sans had no idea how to handle injuries with organs, flesh and tissue. He thought back to some of the textbook knowledge.

   **“Okay, okay, uh, shock.** **Hypovolemic shock! I think that’s what it was called. When they lose too much blood.”** He rambled to himself as he began taking off his jacket to use for the bleeding.

   **“And, uh, their pulse! That tells if they still have a heartbeat, right? How do if I know if I can save her? What if I’m too late?! Humans don’t turn to dust so how I am I supposed to know?!”** He continued while he took her arm and pressed his bony fingers on her wrist, just under her thumb. Talking out loud was his way of thinking rationally. He had to. If he panicked too much then it really would be game over.

   There was no pulse.

   **“Okay! Okay, uh, that’s not good! Um, um, um!”** He said in rising alarm.

_“When the heart is no longer beating, you perform CPR. If there is a pulse, however, you continue with rescue breathing. With CPR, you give 30 compressions, then two breaths and you repeat the cycle five times before rechecking for signs of life.”_

He remembered. He put his hands over Frisk’s chest. He was so conflicted. Shouldn’t he stop the bleeding first, then do CPR? Or is it the other way around like he thought?

   The clock was ticking and Sans didn’t have any time to doubt himself. Every second he wasted, meant less time to save Frisk.

   If there was any.

   He began counting.

   **“1…2…3…4…”**

Sans’ heart was breaking seeing Frisk’s lifeless body laid before him. He caused this! He was the one to make her hurt so badly, she wanted to kill herself. How did he not notice this before?! Sans felt so horrible. This blood was on his hands.

   **“…27…28…29…30.”**

Sans was shaking as he breathed oxygen back into Frisk’s mouth, trying his best to revive her. When he was done, he went back to doing chest compressions.

   **“C’mon, baby bones…Come on….Breathe…Breathe..”** He silently prayed, still mentally keeping track of his counting.

   Sans heard the front door swing open, which caused him to curse under his breath.

   “Hello? Is anyone home? The Great Papyrus has returned home early!”

    _Shitshitshitshitshitshit-_

He heard Papyrus’ footsteps downstairs. There was no noise at first. Then suddenly Papyrus was dashing up the stairs after Sans had finished breathing more air into Frisk, and starting the chest compressions yet again.

   Sans heard Papyrus gasp in horror. He turned his head upwards towards the doorway where his brother stood with two hands on his mouth. Sans did not stop the compressions and new tears began to form in his eye sockets.

   “Sans?! What happened to Frisk?!” He panicked.

   Sans shook his head slowly. Sobs escaping from him without permission.

   “W-why-”

    **“Papyrus, help stop the bleeding, please...!...18..19..20..”** Sans cut off as he continued his counting. Papyrus was in shock, but he moved quickly anyways with no more questions. He unraveled his red scarf and pressed it on top of Frisk’s bleeding arm. Papyrus was shaking and orange tear drops streamed down his face. His healing magic took over and he started working on closing the wounds.

   Sans breathed into Frisk again. He was losing hope but he didn’t want to give up. This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end!   

   He started his third round of chest compressions.

   **“Please, please, please…Just wake up…wake up..”** Sans whispered softly.

   “Frisk…Please! Don’t leave us!” Papyrus begged his voice wavering.

   **“It can’t end like this. Not like this…”**

   He breathed into her. This was the last round. If Frisk didn’t wake up after this, then it was too late to save her.

   **“3…4…5..”**

Papyrus was overworking himself. Healing magic was a tricky process but Papyrus had little to no experience healing anything besides bone. Flesh and tissue was harder to mend, and therefore took longer than he would have liked. The blood was noticeably slowing but whether it was because he was helping, or if Frisk just lost too much, was unknown.

   **“28…29..30.”**

Sans breathed into Frisk’s mouth and started chest compressions again.

  “Brother…” Papyrus said as he stopped the healing magic. It was hopeless. Frisk was gone.

   **“6..7…8-“**

“Brother.” Papyrus said a little louder. Sans continued to ignore him, his tears completely blurring his vision. They fell onto Frisk’s lifeless body.

   **“11..12..13-“** Sans spat out still trying to get the words out of his mouth. He knew it. Deep down inside, he knew that there was nothing he could do. But still, he continued despite his brother’s pleas.

   “Sans!” Papyrus shouted as he had to pull Sans away from Frisk’s body. It was too painful to watch.

   **“No, no, no! Let me go, let me go! Please Papyrus! I- I gotta save her!”** Sans resisted as he tried to free himself from Papyrus’ grasp.

   “You can’t save her anymore brother! Frisk is dead Sans! She’s dead! There’s nothing you can do!” Papyrus argued with burning hot tears dripping down his face. He hated saying it. He didn’t want this.

  Nobody did.

   Sans gave up and finally broke down in his brother’s arms. He sobbed and cried as he buried his face into his chest for comfort.

   **“I can’t believe she killed herself bro…Th-this is all my fault...! I tried to save her, I really tried. I was too late. I couldn’t save her…I couldn’t do it! A-and- “**

Papyrus just held onto Sans tighter. He had no reassuring words for his brother. He was just as hurt, and in shock as him. Instead, the two of them just cried together, unsure of what to do next.

   “H..hng…”

   The two skele-brothers immediately stopped their crying. Sans whipped his head into Frisk’s direction.

   Her chest was rising and falling.

   Papyrus let go of his brother as Sans crawled closer to Frisk in shock.

   **“Frisk?! Frisk can you hear me?”** He questioned as he scooped up Frisk into his arms. She grimaced in pain.

   “Ugh…” she whimpered.

   Sans held onto Frisk’s hand as Papyrus took her free arm and started up the healing process again. She slowly opened her eyes, causing tears of joy to come to Sans’ face.

   **“Oh Frisk! You’re alive! Oh, stars...I thought I lost you!”**

Frisk didn’t respond. She was in too much pain, and her mind was swirling with a million thoughts.

   “Sans…” She managed out.

   **“I’m here. It’s going to be okay Frisk. We’re gonna get you patched up.”** He reassured her.

   “B..Brother, I can’t continue. I stopped the bleeding but I don’t know how to heal this.” Papyrus spoke up as perspiration began to from on his forehead.

   **“Alright, that’s good enough bro. Go call Alphys and tell her to come over. Quickly. I’ll get the kiddo in the guest room while you do that.”**

“Okay.”

   Papyrus stood up slowly and went downstairs to make the phone call. Sans peered down to Frisk who had already closed her eyes and was now resting. He picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the room. The room was a complete mess of blood and debris from the door he forced open earlier. He went to the guest room and laid Frisk gently down on the bed. Reluctantly, Sans went back to Frisk’s room and closed the door as best as he could, so nobody who passed by would have to see what was inside. Sans came back to the guest room and fully examined Frisk. Dry blood was coating her arms, with Papyrus’s scarf tied around the right arm. The blood soaked into it, making it a much darker red than it originally was. She was still incredibly pale, and when he had carried her, he noticed just how cold she was. He pulled a blanket over her, wondering if it would help in some way. Frisk visibly relaxed, making Sans sigh in relief.

   He sat down next to her on the bed, rubbing his skull. He was emotionally and physically exhausted.

   “When you wake up, we’re gonna have a long talk. But for now,” He said while giving her hand a squeeze.

   “Just sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHE LIIIVES! (Thanks to Sans and Papyrus there to save her life!) And boy, does Frisk have a loooong talk ahead of her.


	20. Thread

   It felt like centuries until Alphys finally arrived at the house. She came with a duffle bag of medical equipment and supplies, and she quickly rushed up with Papyrus who escorted her to the guest room. She walked in to see Sans pacing anxiously with blood all over him, and Frisk unconscious in the bed. Sans stopped his frantic movements when she saw the familiar reptile before him.

   “Oh my gosh…” Alphys said in shock. Sans looked exhausted, and Frisk looked like she went through hell and back. The first thing Alphys’ eyes landed on was the blood coating the child’s arms.

   “Papyrus told me everything…I just c-can’t believe F-Frisk would actually...attempt suicide…” Alphys said quietly. Sans nodded and let out a slow shaky sigh. He still had blood on his hands. He wished that he still had his blue jacket, so he could cover up his white shirt, which was now marked with red. He had the sudden need to vomit but he quickly forced it down.

   “She lost a lot of blood. I had to perform CPR.” Sans recapped. Alphys’ eyes widened in horror.

   “She went into h-hypovelemic shock? Oh no…Th-this isn’t good. W-wake her up. Right now.” Alphys ordered as she unzipped her duffle bag. She pulled out a stethoscope as Sans shook Frisk awake.

   “Frisk…Frisk. Hey…Hey!” Sans said progressively getting louder. She didn’t wake at first, but she eventually fluttered her eyes open.

   “Sorry to wake you, but you need to stay up. We can’t take any chances.” Sans explained while propping Frisk up into a sitting position. She whimpered in protest and in pain which made Sans’ heart shatter in millions of pieces.

   “I know…I know, it hurts...” He hushed.

   Alphys got closer to Frisk and checked her vitals. She frowned when listening to her heart beat.

   “What’s wrong?” Papyrus asked who was standing in the corner. He had been unusually quiet the whole time.

   “Her heat rate is a-abnormally s-slow.” Alphys replied while trying not to panic. “We should g-get her to a hospital.” She added more quickly.

   Frisk’s managed to shake her head.

   “No...no, no…No hospital.”

   “Kid, you’ve lost too much blood, Alphys can’t do anything-“

   “No...! They’ll take me away from you…They’ll send me to a ward…!”

   “They aren’t gonna take you away.” Sans tried to reason.

   “Sans…can you manage to teleport in your condition? The hospital isn’t that far from here, we could probably drive-“

   “No. I’ll be fine. I managed to regain some energy while you were on your way over.” Sans cut off. The truth was, Alphys was right. Sans was in no condition at all to teleport himself down the stairs. Let alone across the city and with Frisk in his arms.

   But if it would save her life, he would do it.

   Although, it was a bit risky.

   “Too expensive!” Frisk continued to argue.

   “Frisk, I am willing to pay whatever, as long as it saves your life.” Sans stated firmly. He began to scoop Frisk up as she tried to retract from him.

   “Please don’t…Don’t save me.”

   **“Sorry kiddo. I’m saving your life whether you like it or not.”** Sans shot back bitterly. His magic had sparked to life when the words ‘don’t save me,’ rang through him. He felt like he was repeatedly being stabbed by icy cold knives.

   He wanted to talk to Frisk so badly, but until she was out of the woods and finally in stable condition, Sans didn’t have the time.

   Frisk whimpered again but was too tired to fight him anymore. She eventually let her body get slack so Sans could properly pick her up.

   “Please call us when everything is settled.” Papyrus pipped up. Sans nodded, and in a flash, he was gone.

~---~

   After the first hour, Papyrus had received a call from Sans. He picked up almost instantly and put him on speaker phone for Alphys to hear.

   “Hello?”

   “Hey bro. Just calling to say that the doctors are doing everything they can. They’re currently doing a blood transfusion, and it might take a few more hours. I’m right here next to the kiddo keeping a close eye on them. Have you guys talked to Toriel at all?” Sans asked.

   “Y-yes, we have. She’s on her way over right now. We t-told her everything.” Alphys answered.

   “Okay…thank you. That probably wasn’t an easy thing to do.”

   “…It wasn’t.” Papyrus admitted.

   There was a loud whine coming from the other line, followed by inaudible light sobs.

   “Ah, shit- look. I gotta go. Frisk just woke up again and she’s in pain- hey. Hey, hey…shhh…I’m right here. Look, it’s okay, see?...I gotta go guys. I’ll call you later.” Sans shortened, seemingly distracted by Frisk.

   The line went dead and Papyrus and Alphys were alone again.

~---~

   Five hours later and Sans and Frisk teleported back into the guest room, startling both Papyrus and Alphys who had fallen asleep patiently waiting for their phone call to come.

   The minute Sans touched ground, absolute chaos erupted.

   Sans had an immense amount of blue smoke steaming from his eye socket. He was panting heavily and he almost buckled onto the ground if it weren’t for Papyrus’ quick thinking to keep him standing. Alphys went to Sans’ side and helped him stay upright while Papyrus picked up Frisk, who was sobbing the entire time.

   “What happened?! W-why are you here?!” Alphys questioned.

   **“Those..fucking…doctors…”** Sans panted. **“They…they kept yelling…at Frisk...They said…that it was her fault….”**

   Alphys grabbed a stool for Sans to sit down and catch his breath. He was sweating bullets, and Frisk was still crying. Papyrus tried hushing her soothingly, which worked a little bit but not enough to completely calm her down.

   “Slow down Sans…T-Take a minute to catch your breath, then t-tell us everything.” Alphys instructed.

   He did so.

   **“During the whole visit, the doctors kept scolding Frisk. Kept saying things like, ‘oh, why would you even think to kill yourself, are you an idiot?’ and ‘You know, you wouldn’t be in this situation if you actually decided to think rationally for a second.’ It pissed me off so I decided to take Frisk home. They wanted to have her stay longer, but there was no way I was letting that happen. So, here we are.”** He summarized.

   “B-but you got her the help she needed r-right?” Alphys asked cautiously.

    **“Of course. We got the blood transfusion done, but that was the only reason we stayed for as long as we did. The rest we can fix ourselves, without those shitty doctors.”** Sans grumbled.

   “Brother, you should have let Frisk stay. They are professionals after all, they would have taken good care of her injuries.” Papyrus said.

   **“Look at her.”** Sans ordered. Papyrus hesitantly looked down at Frisk who’s crying had significantly died down. **“You want me to send her back to that place for the night?”**

   “N…No.”

   **“Exactly.”** Sans said simply. Papyrus sighed. Besides from the crying, Frisk did look a little more healthier already. She wasn’t so pale, and clammy and they did a good job in cleaning most of her wounds. The only thing was, that they had left Papyrus’ makeshift bandage/scarf on her wrist for some odd reason.

   **“They left that on because that was the deepest cut she had. We have to stitch it.”** Sans reluctantly said, staring at Alphys. She nodded and reached into the duffel bag she brought. She pulled out a first aid kit and searched the box for more supplies.

   Papyrus sat on the bed, with Frisk still in his arms. He didn’t plan on letting go anytime soon, and he knew that this next part was going to hurt badly.

   Alphys readied the needle and thread and gave the bandages to Sans. She looked Frisk in the eye.

   “Frisk…I’m n-not going to lie…this is going to hurt. I have some m-mild pain reliever, but it’s not very strong. This is the last thing w-we have to take care of today, and then you’re done.” She said honestly. Frisk gulped nervously. Papyrus could feel her trembling and Sans gave her a small nervous, yet reassuring smile.

   “We’ll make this as quick as we can. But...you have to promise me not to move so much, okay? If you move, then Alphys will mess up, and it’ll hurt more. Understand?” Sans warned.

   Frisk nodded.

   “Here. Take this. Sorry that there’s no water.” Alphys said while handing her two pills. Frisk took it without hesitation and managed to swallow them without choking. While they waited for the pain reliever to take effect, Alphys unwrapped Papyrus’ scarf. The cut was not pretty, and it made everyone feel queasy. Sans cringed while Alphys and Papyrus winced. It was bad.

   Alphys cleaned up the wound as best as she could before grabbing the needle and thread.

   “Are you ready Frisk?” She asked.

   “Y..yes.”

   The following fifteen minutes were filled with loud crying and high pitched screams of pain. Papyrus had to hold Frisk in place so that she wouldn’t violently flinch and pull herself away while Alphys drove the needle across her skin. Sans was coaching Frisk the entire time, telling her to take deep breathes, and to look at him instead of the injury.

   It was the longest fifteen minutes of their life.

   When Alphys was finally finished, all four of them let out a long sigh of relief. Alphys cleaned any more blood that was still on her cuts and let Sans wrap them in gauze. They were all exhausted. The worst part was over.

   “Now that that medical stuff is out of the way…” Sans said while Papyrus set Frisk down on the bed. He stood up and lingered by his brother.

   “We need to talk, about what you just did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just take a moment to reflect on the fact that Sans pretty much almost passed out from exhaustion? Like he was legit like, 'Nuh-uh. Not having my kid around some mediocre judgmental doctors. She just tried to kill herself and you're blaming this on her? Yeaaaaaah NOPE-' and just zoomed off. I mean, at least Alphys knows how to do stitches, but GAWD SANS, CHILL. Seriously, he could get hurt if he strains himself too hard. Aye, yai, yai...Such an adamant skeleton. All he wants to do is help. :3  
> I don't know why I'm pretending I don't know what will happen next. (Considering I'm the dang author!)  
> Oh wait.  
> I know.  
> It's because I like messing with you guys. >:)  
> Don't worry, I still love you all.   
> ~CB


	21. The Interrogation

   Frisk could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

   “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not even supposed to be alive right now…This wasn’t supposed to happen…” She said her voice breaking.

   “Yeah…yeah it wasn’t...” Sans sighed. Alphys and Papyrus felt out of place in the conversation and decided to leave the two of them alone.

   “Frisk…I’m sorry.”

   Frisk was completely thrown off by Sans’ apology. Sorry? _He_ was sorry?

   “Sorry for what?”

   “For yelling at you. I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean what I said when I was upset that day. I want you to know, that it wasn’t anyway, your fault at all, okay? What happened in the kitchen wasn’t because of something _you_ did. And you know…I really can’t believe that I said those things…Those...horrible things…” Sans trailed off. Now his voice was wavering and he couldn’t stop his own tears from flowing.

   “It’s okay Sa-“

   “No, it’s not okay.” Sans cut off. “I hurt you. All you were trying to do was help, and I…I told you to fuck off. I just…I just really can’t believe I said that to you. I caused this pain, and I feel so horrible for it. I just wanted to say, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I was the one who pushed you over the edge.” Sans said, neon blue streaks marking his face.

   Frisk said nothing, and just let Sans do the talking.

   “Another thing I wanted to ask, was how long were you cutting, and how long were you feeling suicidal.”

   “I felt like cutting ever since Shannon…” Frisk trailed off, as her voice gave out. “And I’ve felt suicidal ever since this started.” She finally said.

   “I only acted on the cutting, hoping it would make the suicidal thoughts go away.” She added.

   “So this whole time…this whole time, while I was in my room feeling sorry for myself, you were suffering? This entire time?” Sans said broken and defeated.

   Frisk tightly shut her eyes to avoid looking at Sans’ pained expression as she nodded yes.

   “Don’t be upset Sans, okay? I did this to myself. I’m just a waste of space. An abomination. Worthless. Garbage. A mistake. I am nothing. I mean nothing. I am a burden. I hate myself, and I really, really wished that you would have let me-“

   **“Don’t say it.”**

“You should have let me-“

   **“Don’t. Say it.”** Sans warned. Frisk then shut her mouth, but not for long.

   “It’s true.”

   **“No, no, no…it’s not true. It is not true. Don’t say that it is. You aren’t worthless Frisk. You aren’t some abomination, okay? You mean everything to me.”**

“How?!” Frisk suddenly shouted. “I killed everyone in that other timeline!”

   Sans’ eye lights were gone, as he was visibly shocked by the outburst.

   **“You remember it?”** He asked carefully.

   Frisk nodded.

   Sans’ pupils returned but they were much smaller than usual.

   “I killed them all…didn’t I Sans? You hate me, don’t you? That’s why you freaked out when I had the knife in my hand…You were right Sans. Kids like me…should be burning in hell.”

   Sans stiffened at Frisk’s statement.

   **“No! Fuck that! Don’t ever say that! That wasn’t you, okay? That was the anomaly, pulling the strings. You didn’t kill anybody. I don’t hate you Frisk. I could never hate you. Do you have any idea how badly you scared me today? I thought I lost you! Do you know what Toriel would do without you? You want her to go through the pain of losing yet another child? She wouldn’t be able to handle it. And Papyrus? He loves coming home from work to see your face. He loves spending time with you, and taking care of you. For so long, he was always the little brother, but now that you’re around, he’s so excited in being a good ‘big brother’ for once. What about Undyne? She won’t say it but we all know she secretly loves you. Your bravery and kindness motivates her to become a better person, and we all see the positive impact your making on her life. And Alphys! You have helped her make so many friends and finally become comfortable with herself. She told me herself, that you actually helped saved her from her depression. What would have happened if you actually killed yourself today? What would they do? What would _I_ do?! You want to know? I would cry myself to sleep, every single night. I would miss you so much. I wouldn’t be able to pass by your room without breaking down into tears, knowing that I wouldn’t get to hear your laugh again. That I wouldn’t be able to have snowball fights with you. I wouldn’t be able to go to Grillby’s with you. Watching TV on the couch would never be the same…Baby bones, I would be absolutely _devastated._ ”**

At that point, Frisk had thrown herself into Sans’ arms and cried into his chest. They were loud and heavy wails, that would no doubt haunt Sans forever.

   “I’m sorry…I’m s-so-ory…” Frisk kept repeating. She had messed up big time.

   “Shhh…shhh….” Sans comforted while patting her back. He had significantly calmed down, which helped Frisk relax too.

   “That wasn’t you Frisk…That other timeline- it’s in the past. It wasn’t you and we don’t need to dwell on it…”

   Frisk wanted to argue with Sans. She _was_ at fault! It was her idea in the first place. It was Frisk who slaughtered all the monsters in the Ruins. Chara just simply went along with it because, she had no other choice. The only thing was that when Frisk wanted to stop, Chara forced her to keep going. Because after-all, it was Frisk who wanted this to begin with right? Why kill everyone with no hesitation until she got to Sans? Why, all of a sudden, did she back out then, and not for any other monster? Chara was only finishing the job. She wasn’t entirely to blame. She was just doing what Frisk had taught her.

   Frisk decided to save that conversation for another time. Sans looked like he was about to pass out, and to be honest, Frisk felt the same. It had been one crazy and emotional roller coaster for the both of them.

   Frisk was finally left with light shuddering which eventually proceeded to a stop.

   “You good now kiddie?” Sans asked lightheartedly.

   Frisk nodded.

   Sans didn’t let go of Frisk but he managed to reach into his pockets for his phone which buzzed right on cue. He unlocked the screen and opened a text message from Alphys. He sighed heavily while shoving his phone back into his pocket.

   “Alright kiddo. I know you’re exhausted but…Toriel, Asgore and Undyne are downstairs with Alphys and Paps, and they reeeaally want to see how you’re doing. They’re worried about you, and apparently they’ve been waiting downstairs for a few hours now.” He explained.

   “Does that mean they heard me screaming and crying?”

   “Yeah…probably.” Sans answered honestly.

   Frisk groaned.

   “Great.”

   “It’s alright. You don’t have to be ashamed of anything. What you just went through was a very painful experience. I think anyone would have cried and screamed.” Sans consoled.

   “I just made them worry even more.”

   “Frisk, like it or not, we’re all going to worry about you. Constantly. It’s just what families do. But don’t feel bad okay? We worry because we care, and we want to take care of you. I worry about Papyrus all the time. The surface is kind of a scary place. There’s robbers, there’s shooters, there’s drunk drivers…There’s a lot of things. But he knows that just because I worry, it doesn’t mean I think he’s a burden. I love him. And I always worry. I’ll never stop worrying. But I don’t mind. Because that’s what a good brother does. The same goes for you. Me, Tori, Alphys and the others…We won’t stop worrying. But that also means we won’t stop loving you.”

   Frisk felt misty eyed at Sans’ explanation. She felt like crying again but she forced herself not to. Instead, she finally genuinely smiled for the first time that whole week.

   “There’s that beautiful smile! Now c’mon. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can feed you and get you into bed.” Sans said as he stood up, still carrying Frisk in his arms.

  “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! We're getting to the bottom of things! Yay!  
> Sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than usual. I just wanted it to end on a light note, after this angst ride crashed and burned. Who's ready for some more fluff?   
> Oh, and just a reminder, I have a tumblr blog, (cbindisguise.tumblr.com) and I'm (sort of) active there. I sometimes post one-shots, that aren't posted anywhere else, (I've made one about Sans explaining the timelines to Papyrus, and I'm really proud of that one!) I even do comic dubs and some other voice acting stuff, so if you're interested, don't be shy! If I'm not updating this fanfic, then I'm most likely doing something for tumblr.  
> Anyways, that's enough of my shameless plugin. Hope you have a great day!  
> ~CB


	22. The Resolve

   Sans ruffled Frisk’s hair and gave a quick last check on her bandages before heading out. Frisk was still feeling a little light headed and ill, so she held onto Sans’ arm, which was oddly exposed without his fluffy blue jacket covering it up. When they reached the stairs, Frisk finally gave up and let Sans carry her to avoid slipping and falling. The hospital visit was one big blur. She was unconscious for most of the time there, and she remembered the doctors muttering harsh things under their breath. She recalled the faint beeping of the heart monitor that was hooked up to her, and the fact that Sans got so pissed he practically ripped off the wiring attached in one go. She was glad that they had already taken out the IV tube they used during the blood transfusion. She learned that being AB positive was a blessing. She probably would have had to wait even longer if she wasn’t a universal receiver. She _was_ supposed to stay overnight but Sans apparently had other plans.

   Oh well. It was over, and Alphys was monitoring her health anyways.

   When they reached the bottom of the steps, three worried boss monsters tackle-hugged Frisk, (along with Sans who was holding her) and began blubbering incoherent sentences.

   “Oh, my child! Oh goodness! I’m so glad you’re here…oh goodness…”

   “Frisk…you scared us so badly! I thought....Jeez…”

   “Frisk…it will be okay. We’re here for you…we’ll always be…”

   Frisk began to tear up, seeing her friends so distraught. She had put them through so much. She could have made things worse if Sans didn’t come home on time to stop her.

   “I’m sorry…” She whispered. They all pulled away from her.

    “It’s not your fault.” Toriel replied. She had tears in her eyes but she was smiling.

    “Don’t apologize Frisk. If anything, we should be saying sorry…” Undyne added.

    “We had no idea what was happening…We’re sorry.” Asgore agreed

    “It’s okay.” Frisk accepted. She still wanted to blame herself, but the other boss monsters would have kept insisting otherwise.

   “Well…I’m pretty sure we’re all tired after today. I think it would be best if we heated up some dinner and get some sleep?” Sans offered.

   “Of course….I’m sure you four are all exhausted.” Toriel stated while glancing at Papyrus and Alphys as well.

   Toriel simply heated up some leftover soup she made and quickly served the four of them at the table. Papyrus tried to keep things light by supplying general conversation, but everyone could tell he was visibly shaken up from earlier.

   Frisk had barely eaten anything from her bowl, so Sans had to constantly remind her to take another spoonful. He didn’t realize the significant weight loss on Frisk until recently. He made a mental note of that and continued to keep an eye on her.

   Eventually, Frisk’s hunger got the better of her, and she did eventually finish the entire bowl.

   “Good job kiddo. Why don’t you go put on some PJs while Papyrus picks out a book to read?” Sans suggested. Papyrus perked up and immediately stood from his spot.

   “That sounds like a great idea!”

    Before Papyrus and Frisk took off, Undyne and Asgore had said their goodbyes.

    “Alright punk! Get some shut eye! Don’t be afraid to call me. I really do care about you, okay?”

    “Good night Frisk. Take care of yourself, alright? Do not hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

    And with that, the two left, and soon Alphys was packing up her bags as well.

    “Okay Frisk. F-Feel better soon okay? Call me if you need a-anything. Anything at all. S-See you tomorrow.”

   Papyrus then grabbed Frisk by the hand and pulled her away upstairs to get her ready for bed. Alphys turned to Sans and Toriel with a more serious look.

   “Keep an eye on her h-health. Change her b-bandages often, and make sure her c-cuts don’t get infected. Don’t touch the stitches, that c-could make it worse. Make sure she drinks lots of f-fluids too. J-just…look out for her. S-Suicide attempt victims don’t usually s-stop after one try…” Alphys trailed off.

   “I know. I’ll keep an eye socket on her.” Sans vowed.

   “Don’t smother her either. Hovering over her isn’t going to h-help.”

   “I got it.”

    ~---~

 After Sans had a long discussion with Toriel, he went upstairs to see the door to Frisk’s room wide open.

  His heart stopped as immediate panic set in. He walked right in to see Frisk standing in the middle of the room, her eyes out of focus and her breathing picking up.

   “K..Kid..?” Sans called out. Thankfully, she had responded, but it was not in a natural way. She slowly turned towards him, tears developing in her eyes while she took short shuddery breathes. Sans carefully stepped over the debris and puddles of blood, which were now sticky and starting to turn brown. He felt the need to throw up but he quickly forced it down. He had to focus on Frisk.

   “Kid, what are you doing in here?” He asked carefully as he gently started pulling her away from the room. “You’re not sleeping here. Not in this mess. “ He muttered.

   “M…M-my pajamas.” She stammered still in shock.

   “Your pajamas? Where are they?” Sans asked fully alert.

   She pointed her finger at the bottom drawer of her dresser in her room.

   “PAPYRUS..?” Sans called out loudly. He heard his brother’s footsteps down the hall and then felt his presence behind him.

   “Yes?” Papyrus asked warily.

   “Can you keep Frisk company in the guest room while I get her PJs?”

   “Sure.” Papyrus agreed as he held out his hand for Frisk to grab. If he was honest, he felt sick just standing in that room.

   Frisk was petrified at her spot.

   “Go on Frisk. Go with Pappy.” Sans encouraged lightly. She nodded robotically and walked towards him. Papyrus gave Sans a worried look before the two of them walked away. Sans instantly made his way towards the drawer and pulled out her purple and pink pajamas and quickly made his way to the exit. He closed the door behind him and went to the bathroom when he started to gag.

   ~---~

   “…And fluffy bunny had drifted off to sleep. The end.” Papyrus finalized as he shut the book. Sans couldn’t help but notice the small smile that had managed to make its way on Frisk’s face. A sigh of relief flooded over him. He was glad to see her feeling a little better after that incident that just occurred.

   “Alright kiddo. Ready for bed?” Sans asked while Toriel made her way into the room. Frisk nodded affirmatively.

   Toriel bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. She hugged her as well, and didn’t let go for a long time.

   “I love you so much. Don’t ever think otherwise.”

   Frisk felt a teardrop make its way into the corner of her eye. Then it was Papyrus’ turn to wish her goodnight.

   “I don’t know why you would do something as to hurt yourself like this…but…just know, that we all care about you Frisk. Don’t ever doubt it, even for a second.” He said as he tapped his teeth on her forehead. She smiled as she wiped her eyes.

   “Thanks Papyrus.”

   “You’re very welcome human. Now, get some rest.”

   He turned away and walked towards the door.

   “Goodnight brother.”

   “Night bro. Night Tori.” Sans replied.

   “Goodnight Sans.”

   The door closed behind them with a click and Sans sat by Frisk’s bedside.

   “Are you going to hover over me now? Even while I sleep?” Frisk asked somewhat sarcastically.

   “Nah. I know you probably wouldn’t appreciate that. I’ll leave you alone in a bit. Just wanted to say goodnight.” Sans said, ready to stand up and leave.

   “No, it’s okay. Don’t go. I don’t want to be alone yet.” Frisk admitted. She moved over so Sans could have more room to sit.

   Without a word, Sans gently lifted Frisk’s hand and checked the bandaging on it. The bandages had begun to come lose so he decided to fix them. When he was done, he gently traced over the indent at the crease of Frisk’s arm. That was when the IV tube was put into her arm at the hospital. He shivered at the thoughts of needles anywhere near him.

   “You look weird without your jacket.” Frisk commented, breaking him out of his thoughts.

   He chuckled and ruffled Frisk’s hair.

   “Yeah. I guess so.” He agreed. He glanced down at his arms and began to rub them. He sighed heavily.

   “You know kid…I kinda understand what you’re going through.” He started, choosing his next words carefully. “The depression…the isolation…the self-harm.”

   That last part caught Frisk’s attention and her head sharply snapped in his direction.

   “What?”

    “Yeah. Believe it or not, this skeleton is not as level-headed as you thought.” He said sadly.

   “Sans, what are you trying to say?” Frisk asked. He sighed again.

   “I used to hurt myself too.”

    “What? Why?!...How?!”

   Sans couldn’t really tell Frisk why. If he told her the truth, she would feel to blame, and that would only make her feel worse.

   “I was depressed. Our whole situation of living underground for centuries…it really messed with my mental health.” He answered vaguely.

   “But…how? You only have one HP…” Frisk pointed out.

   “I would eat a monster candy while I took the knife…and carved a chunk out. I would watch my health drop to the decimals before it popped back up to one. Very stupid, and very dangerous I know. Glad I was able to stop…” He mumbled as he recalled his darker days. Frisk stared at his ulna and radius bones.

   “You can look if you want. It’s only fair, after what happened today.” He offered. He willingly let Frisk grab onto his arm and thoroughly exam it. There were faint jagged and curved lines and cracks in his bone. It looked old, and it wasn’t noticeable unless you were two inches away from it like she was right now.

   “Papyrus caught on and…well…he basically healed most of them. Ever since then, seeing him hurt like that…I just couldn’t do it. As much as I hated myself, my brother was hurting because of my actions. So…I stopped. Just for him. And I don’t regret my decision one bit.” He said proudly. Frisk was quiet for a while, until finally she spoke up.

   “Did you ever think about…suicide..?” She asked hesitant to know the answer. Sans took in a deep slow breath.

   “Lots of times. But…I just kept thinking about Papyrus. How he would have felt If I did that…how it would have crushed him…who would take care of him…Things like that.” He replied truthfully.

   Frisk felt more tears making their way into her eyes.

   “Oh Sans…” She whispered. She would have never guessed in a million years that Sans The Comic, had been self harming and suicidal at one point.

   Just like her.

   “Look kid…I didn’t tell you all this so you would feel bad, and pity me. I told you this, to show you that you aren’t alone. I know how hard it is to push away these negative thoughts- believe me I do. But I have faith in you kiddo. If a dusty skeleton like me can do it, I think you can too.” He encouraged.

   “I..I…” Frisk stammered. She had a troubled look on her face. “I don’t think I can.”

   “You can.” Sans repeated softly.

   “What if I can’t?” Frisk whispered.

   “You will. You’re Frisk The Human. The angel that freed all of monster kind from their underground prison. You can do this. I know you can.”

   And with that, Sans stood up from his bed. He gave Frisk a comforting smile and made his way towards the door.

   “Tomorrow’s another day. But before I go, I’m going to leave this door open okay? I know you’d rather it be closed but, uh…y’know. Let’s just keep it open. Just until I know you’re okay. And how about tomorrow, I clean up your room, and we can go out to eat?” Sans offered.

   “Okay.” Frisk agreed happily. “Oh, and Sans?”

   “Mm?”

   “Thank you for saving me.”

    Sans’ smile grew twice its size. He rubbed the back of his skull bashfully.

   “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Long time no see! Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet. It feels like I have no time for myself anymore since school is constantly suffocating me, but hey. Whatcha gonna do?  
> I'm sorry for making you all wait so long for me to update. You guys have been so patient and understanding, and I really do appreciate it. (And thank you all so much for over 100 kudos! Y'all are the best!)  
> ~CB


	23. Breakfast

   Sans had jumped in his spot when there was a sudden knock at the door.

   “Come in.” He acknowledged

   The door slowly swung open, with a distressed yet exhausted Frisk standing in the way. She had an aqua colored blanket swung over her shoulders, and let it drag onto the floor. She groggily closed the door behind her and made her way towards Sans.

   “Hey kiddo. What are you still doing up? It’s late.” He noted. He moved over on the bed so Frisk could sit down.

   “Bad thoughts…. Can’t be alone.” She mumbled as she plopped herself by his side. Sans helped pull the blanket over her, as he felt the need to swoop her up and protect her. The blanket provided just enough comfort to keep Frisk at bay.

   “Well kid, you can sleep here tonight if you want.” Sans offered. Frisk nodded her head and Sans moved to the corner of his bed to make room for her to lay down. She curled up into a fetal position and let the warmth of the blanket help her relax. Sans contently laid down on his back next to her, and stared off into the ceiling.

   After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Frisk spoke up.

   “You know, I used to be afraid of the dark.” She softly stated.

   “Oh yeah?”

   “Mhm.” Frisk replied affirmatively.

   “What made you stop being afraid?” Sans wondered.

   “Waterfall. When I made it to Waterfall, the echo flowers and crystals had lit the caves with their glow. Not to mention the constant sound of rushing water. It was peaceful. And now…whenever I’m someplace dark…I think back to that time in Waterfall.” She answered. Sans hummed blissfully at the statement. It made him think back to his life before the surface. Sure, it was a pretty miserable place for him, but he couldn’t help but love his time spent in Waterfall. He loved Snowdin and the people in it but Waterfall was his escape. A place where he could roam free and not have to think so much about his troubles. It truly was a special place.

   He remembered the statue that was constantly rained on. Nobody had paid attention to it. It was just a mossy, old, cracked up shrine.

   Nobody except Frisk.

   During one of his hours working at his sentry station, there was music flooding throughout the cavern. It was a slow melodic tune but it was cheery and uplifting at the same time. When he went to go check it out, he saw that the statue had been given an umbrella to protect itself from the rain. Apparently, there was a music box built inside the statue, and it had finally begun to play.

   Sans softly hummed the tune out loud. Frisk glanced up towards him, clearly taken by surprise by the gesture. She didn’t say anything though. She simply smiled softly as she recalled the memory just as he did. She closed her eyes and let the sound of Sans’ humming lull her to sleep. Eventually, Sans stopped humming when he saw that Frisk was softly snoring next to him. He grinned happily and decided that it was time for him to catch some shut eye too.

   “Goodnight baby bones.” He whispered.

~---~

   Frisk was the first to wake up that morning. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted as the sunlight poured in from Sans’ window. She yawned and stretched a little and resumed staring off into the ray of sun, which was now attracting dust particles to float through the air. Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last. She felt sharp pain shoot through her arms.

   Oh. Right. That still happened.

   She turned towards Sans and saw he was still asleep. She was going to leave him be, until she noticed how his head kept turning side to side. Every now and then, his face flashed a quick flicker of something. Sorrow? Anger? Fear?

   He started to mutter something.

   “No…no…Frisk…” He mumbled.

   A bad dream.

   Frisk immediately took action and shook Sans awake. He stopped his stirring and he opened his eyes. He seemed dazed and confused for a second but he eventually came to his senses. He visibly relaxed and he gave a weak smile.

   “…You okay?” Frisk asked concerned. Sans sighed and sank deeper into his spot. He nodded slowly, still obviously shaken up.

   “Bad dream?” Frisk guessed. Sans nodded again. He slowly sat up and rubbed his head. Frisk decided to sit up too and hugged him in an attempt to comfort him. He accepted the hug and sighed once more.

   “Thanks sweet pea.” He said. Frisk smiled as she felt a small twinge of happiness at the nickname. She felt like she did something right for once!

   “You want to talk about it?” Frisk offered. Sans shook his head.

   “I appreciate the offer but I’ll be okay. It was just…” He trailed off and stared at Frisk. “I’m just really glad you’re here today.”

   Frisk nodded and decided to give Sans another minute to gather his thoughts.  She pushed the blanket off her, but suddenly stopped when the bandages on her wrists were getting caught in the fabric. She tried to slowly pull her arm away but it only made her softly cry out. Sans spun his head to her direction suddenly snapped out of his haze.

   “Aw, geez. I’m sorry Frisk. I was too busy wrapped up in my own thoughts. Hang on, I’ve gotcha.” He reassured as he carefully separated her arm and the blanket. Once her arm was free he examined the bandages. They were coming loose again, and the gauze had already soaked up a little too much blood. The white strips now had dark red lines dotted over the midsection of her wrist.

   “…Oooh yeah. Time to change those bandages. Tell you what, how about you go see Toriel downstairs while I get some more bandages for you? I’m sure she’ll have some breakfast already prepared for you.”

   “Okay.” Frisk agreed and walked out of Sans’ room to go to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before she eventually went downstairs to see Toriel and Papyrus chatting in the kitchen. Both of their faces lit up when they saw Frisk.

   “Good morning my child! How did you sleep?” Toriel greeted.

   “I slept good.” Frisk replied happily. It was true; that was the first night of good sleep since the fight between Sans.

  “That is good to hear. Me and Papyrus had made you French toast if you’re feeling up for it.” Toriel offered. Frisk smiled brightly and nodded her head.

   “That sounds great.” She agreed, taking up the offer.

   “Then take a seat, human! I shall heat up your breakfast. It may have cooled off since we made it, but rest assured!” He proclaimed as he marched towards the plate of French toast that rested on the countertop. He opened the microwave and shoved the plate inside while heating it up for thirty seconds. Frisk plopped herself down into one of the free chairs near the table and waited.

   The microwave beeped and Papyrus pulled out the hot plate and set it down in front of the hungry child.

   “There you are human! It’s made with love!” Papyrus stated proudly. Toriel had swiftly placed a fork in front of Frisk and handed her the syrup. She shot the child a small smile as she walked away towards the living room with a small watering can; probably off to water her plants.

   Frisk poured a bit of syrup on her French toast as Papyrus sat down next to her with a glass of apple juice in his boney hands. Frisk felt strange to see Papyrus without his iconic red scarf. He didn’t have any gloves on either, so his hands were completely bare. They were long and thin; elegant, just like The Great Papyrus. He looked happy to have Frisk’s company, and the aura he emitted changed the atmosphere into a cheerful and peaceful one. Frisk did her best not to notice the fact that Toriel did not give her a knife. She glanced quickly towards the knife block and noticed that every single knife there was gone. She shrugged it off. They were doing this to protect her- she knew that.

   She didn’t dwell too much on it and she took a few bites of her breakfast.

   Soon enough, Sans had made his way down the stairs with a gray backpack in his hands.

   “Hey bro.” Sans stated He pulled out a chair next to Frisk and gave them both a reassuring smile.

   “Good morning brother! How did you sleep?” Papyrus asked.

   “With my eyes closed.” Sans replied while winking playfully towards Frisk. Papyrus groaned loudly while Frisk giggled.

   “Anyways, Frisk, you done with breakfast?” Sans asked, changing the subject. She nodded and pushed her now empty plate away from her. Sans’ grin faltered as he reached for the backpack. “Well, time to change those bandages.” He announced. Frisk felt uneasy but she gave him a weak nod in reply.

   “Papyrus, do you want to help? You don’t have to. It’s a little graphic.” Sans asked his brother as he unzipped the bag.

   “I want to help.” He stated firmly. “Besides, I was right there when it happened brother.” He reminded.

   Sans pulled out a roll of fresh white bandages and held it out for Papyrus to take. He moved closer to Frisk and took the roll in his hand.

   “Alright kiddo. You okay with Papyrus helping?” He asked while pulling out something else from the bookbag.

   “Yes.”

   “Okay then.” He finalized. He grabbed what appeared to be baby wipes from the bag and opened it up. He pulled one out just enough that it poked out of the packaging. Sans then unraveled the bandages on Frisk’s wrist.

   There were red and pink puffy straight lines on her left arm. The cuts were already scabbing over, making some of the worst wounds close up. Sans and Papyrus both winced when they gazed upon the injuries. Frisk looked away in shame, leaving her left arm exposed to them both. Sans grabbed onto her arm, supporting it from underneath. He pulled out one the wipes, and Frisk was immediately hit with the smell of rubbing alcohol.

   “This might sting a little.” Sans warned. He pressed the wipes against her raw skin, and Frisk hissed under her breath. He pressed against the wounds and let the leftover moisture on her wrist dry off. The stinging eased up and Frisk relaxed a little.

   Wordlessly, Papyrus gently placed a boney finger on the cuts. He traced over them, while scanning Frisk’s facial expressions for any wariness. She looked at the cuts with a somber expression.

   “Human…I am always here for you. Please don’t hurt yourself anymore. I don’t ever want you to feel like this ever again. I am always here.” He reassured. Frisk teared up a bit and nodded. He continued to silently touch each and every raised cut, as if he was trying to imagine what feelings Frisk was feeling to go so far as to harm herself.

   Let alone attempt suicide.

   It was only then did Papyrus stop when Frisk flinched after brushing over a deeper cut. He withdrew and unrolled the bandages that were set on the table. He cut it at a reasonable length and began to wrap it around her wrist. Once he was finished, Sans took the other hand and began unraveling the bandages on that one.

   “Hey Pap. I’ll take it from here. This arm has stitches and Alphys told me to check ‘em.” Sans informed.

   “Okay.”

   He pulled the old bandages off, and gave her stitched arm to Sans. He drew in a shaky breath in, but quickly kept his composure.

   “That must’ve hurt like hell.” He mumbled.

   “It did.” Frisk agreed lightly. Sans began poking and prodding the stitches, watching Frisk’s reaction carefully.

   “Does it hurt when I do this?” He asked applying light pressure.

   “A little.”

   “How about when I do this?” He restated, applying more pressure. Frisk felt the pain in her wrist quickly grow as she bit down on her bottom lip to avoid crying out. She nodded vigorously with tears forming in her eyes. Sans immediately backed off.

   “Okay…how about this?” He questioned again more gently. The pain receded.

   “Not so much…” Frisk answered.

   “Okay.”

   Without any more questions, Sans cleaned her injuries and wrapped them up. He put all the medical supplies away in the gray bookbag and gave Frisk a reassuring smile. He gave Frisk a comforting pat on the back and the two brothers stood from their spots. Frisk too, got up from her chair and stretched.

   “Alright kiddie. How about you go join Toriel in the living room. I’m gonna take care of your room, and then when lunch time comes we’ll grab a bite to eat. Sound good?” Sans offered.

   Frisk grinned happily.

   “Yeah. Sounds good.” She agreed as she merrily made her way into the living room.

   When she was out of earshot Sans let out a deep sigh of despair. Papyrus looked anxious as he rubbed his hands together.

   “Brother…Frisk isn’t okay. We should really try to encourage her to talk about her feelings.” Papyrus spoke quietly.

   “Yeah, I’m with you Pap. I’m thinking maybe we should take her to a therapist.”

   “Does she want that?”

   “What?” Sans whispered.

   “Would she want that?” Papyrus repeated.

   “I don’t know. But she has to get help, Pap. Whether it’s from us, or a professional. Whichever really.”

   Papyrus frowned.

   “That’s not fair to her.” He argued.

   “Pap-“

   “No, listen,” Papyrus cut off. “If she doesn’t feel comfortable in talking to a professional, then don’t force her. That won’t help her. We have to wait until she is ready to talk.”

   “But, what if she doesn’t? What if this gets worse?” Sans feared.

   “Chances are it will. But we have to support her through thick and thin. It’s not fair to do that to her. I never did that to you, when you relapsed did I?” Papyrus questioned.

   “N…No…”

   “Exactly. I know you’re scared brother, but she needs a friend. Not a lecture. All we have to do is keep a close eye on her. People who attempt…suicide…usually try it again. Please keep that in mind. I would rather have to help her deal with self-harm and depression than…well, _that_ again.”

   “Yeah…Yeah, you’re absolutely right.” Sans agreed.

   “Of course I am!” Papyrus claimed as he shifted into a lighter mood. Sans couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s enthusiasm.

   Man, his brother was so awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Fluff! And Papyrus is not as naive as people thought, huh? I hope the wait for this chapter was worth it. You all are so amazing and awesome, and to show my gratitude, I decided to make a chapter that was longer than usual to make it worth the wait. (It's approximately six pages long, so I hope that suffices!)  
> Stay cool!  
> ~CB


	24. Clean up Crew

   With a mop and a bucket filled with warm soapy water, Sans marched all the way up to Frisk’s room. His hands shook as he took a deep breath to compose himself. He put his hand on the doorknob and pushed himself inside, closing the door behind him.

   Splinters of wood were on the ground, with puddles of dried blood. His jacket was there, on the floor, completely stained and left behind by everyone. Sans didn’t want to admit it, but thanks to the previous runs, he became a bit of a hemophobic. He already had enough experience when he fought Chara in the genocide run. He never wanted to think about the numerous times he murdered them. Sans had never killed anybody before. That was the first time he seriously had the intent to kill.

   Never again.

   The first time he killed them was anticlimactic. They didn’t see it coming. The battle only lasted ten seconds before they died and had to load their save point. Blood was shed everywhere in the grand judgement hall. As he said before, the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming. It was almost poetic.

   But the red pools of blood were forever burned in his memory, and today was no exception.

   Sans snapped out of his haze and plunged the mop into the bucket. He wrung it out and began to clean to floor. The stains wouldn’t come out at first, but the more times he glossed over the floor with soap, the more the stains washed away. While pushing the mop back and forth, he bumped into a metal object.

   The knife.

   He bent over and carefully picked it up by the handle. Upon examination, Sans saw the dark red blood still crusted over the blade. Frisk’s blood. He had a flashback to when he held her small cold, unconscious body in his arms. How he felt her blood through his clothing and on his fingers. How fragile she was. How close she was to dying in this room.

   Sans had to step out of the room, and resist the urge to throw up. He gagged a few times and he felt his tears welling up. He quickly sank to the floor in front of the doorway, with his head in his hands.

   All of this over that stupid argument. That argument, in which Sans had caused.

   “Stars…I’m so fucking stupid. It’s all my fault.” Sans growled to himself. He heard another pair of footsteps come closer to him.

   “Sans..? Are you alright?”

   It was Papyrus again. Sans didn’t bother answering. Instead he lifted his head out from his hands and looked up to meet his gaze.

   “How’s the cleaning going?” Papyrus asked. Sans pushed himself back onto his feet.

   “It’s going.” Sans simply replied.

   “You know, I can do this if you think you can’t handle it.” Papyrus stated, clearly concerned.

   “No. I just…needed a minute.” Sans mumbled. He turned away from Papyrus and put his hand on the doorknob before he was abruptly spun around.

   “W-what-“

   Papyrus pulled Sans into a hug. Sans didn’t mind. He accepted the embrace and leaned into his brother for support.

   “I know that this has been hard on you just as much as it’s been hard on Frisk. You are not alone brother. You don’t have to be the strong one all the time. I can be the strong one too. I can help…okay?” Papyrus consoled. The grip Sans had on Papyrus was tightened.

   “Okay…Thank you…” Sans said barely audible. Papyrus retracted and shot Sans a reassuring grin.

   “Nyehe. Don’t worry about it. Now then! Let me get a vacuum and we can get the rest of the room cleaned up.”

   “Sure.”

~---~

   A load of laundry later and Sans was starting to feel a lot better. Papyrus’ gloves and scarf were in the dryer, while Sans sprayed some stain fighting solution to help remove the blood on his jacket. He tossed it into the washer and he felt a little more at ease knowing that he would get it back, good as new.

   With the help of Papyrus, the room was finally tidy and clean. Sans made a mental note to himself to get Frisk’s door fixed. It had a few cracks running up the surface of the door, and the doorknob was busted so you couldn’t lock it.

   Before Sans left Frisk’s room, he opened the windows to let the overwhelming smell of cleaning products escape. He glanced down at the mop bucket, water completely brown and murky. He picked up the knife, along with the bucket by the handle and teleported to the kitchen to dump out the water down the drain. As for the knife, he didn’t feel right to simply wash it and put it back where it belonged. The thought of someone using that same knife to cut up their steak made Sans want to vomit again. He quickly shook off the idea and tossed it in the garbage.

   “Sans..? You have some mail here, waiting for you.” Toriel called out from the kitchen. Sans walked over to the living room to see Toriel sitting on the rocking chair with Frisk balled up into her arms. She looked relaxed and she was smiling slightly as Toriel held out a stack of mail to Sans, while the other hand held a book about flowers. Sans gratefully accepted the mail and Toriel’s hand returned to Frisk’s head. She ruffled her hair comfortingly as she gazed at the letters Sans held.

   “Alright…let’s see what we’ve got here.” Sans muttered as he shuffled through each letter. Junk…junk…bills...junk…bills…Wait.

   His eyes scanned over a letter that was from the emergency room. He immediately locked his sights on it and tore it open. His eye lights trailed over the words on the paper as he read it to himself.

   “What’s it say?” Toriel asked.

    “It’s from the emergency room. They’re not exactly happy with me for leaving early. Oh well.” Sans dismissed completely apathetic. He folded up the letter and put it in the bookcase that was close by. He’d have to send them the billing info later.

   Suddenly, Papyrus bolted down the stairs excited as ever. His magnificent red scarf, flowed freely behind him. He suddenly grabbed onto Sans’ hand and yanked him into the kitchen where they couldn’t see. Toriel and Frisk were left there, completely confused, as they heard Sans grumbling. They heard some rustling and the grumbling stopped. Instead, they heard Papyrus quietly laugh to himself. Frisk gave Toriel a concerned look with one singular eyebrow raised. Toriel returned the skeptical look and shrugged.

   They both heard their footsteps as they entered the living room. They presented themselves to the both of them, looking much better with their signature clothing. Papyrus not only had his bright red scarf, but he had his gloves back too. He had one hand on his chest, while the other was in a fist behind his back. He shut his eyes and smiled excitedly towards Toriel and Frisk. Next to him, was Sans, who’s eyes were shining brightly, clearly excited to have his royal blue jacket back. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned, showing all of his teeth.

   Frisk had to admit, it made her feel nostalgic seeing them both dressed like that. They both looked happy, and the amount of positive energy they were giving off was contagious.

   “You boys looks lovely!” Toriel complemented with a genuine smile.

    “Nyehehe! The skeleton brothers are back in action!” Papyrus declared as he happily marched to his room.

   Sans had to admit, he felt his confidence boost significantly as soon as he put on the jacket. He was glad the stains came out.

   He felt like his old self again.

   “Okay kiddo. You hungry?” Sans asked while glancing at the clock. Almost three hours had passed.

   “A little.” Frisk replied.

   “Alright. Then how about you go get dressed, and we’ll head out?” Sans suggested. Frisk smiled brightly and eagerly crawled out from her spot on Toriel’s lap.

   “Okay!” She agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of this chapter! I know that this chapter was pretty short, buuuut you gotta admit, there's nothing really fun about cleaning up someone's room. I also have this headcannon that Sans develops a fear of blood because of the genocide run, but ya know. That's just me. And can I just say, that Papyrus is the true MVP? And so is Toriel for having some nice quality time with Frisk after everything that's happened? GAAH I really need these guys in my life. :'D


	25. Lunch

   Frisk met Sans at the door, properly bundled up to face the bitter cold. It was mid-winter and Toriel insisted that Frisk dressed accordingly so she wouldn’t catch a cold.

   “Alright. You ready kid?” Sans asked. Frisk nodded affirmatively. “Alright then. We’ll be back Tori.” Sans stated as they both turned towards the door. Toriel smiled from her spot on the chair.

   “Okay. You two have fun. Don’t stay out too late! And don’t get into any trouble either!” Toriel said sternly.

   “We know!” Frisk chimed. And with that, the two headed out.

  The two walked along the sidewalk together, enjoying each other’s company. The wintry chill was causing Frisk’s hands to become cold and stiff so she stuck them in her coat pocket. She shivered a bit to herself, but kept a smile on her face.

   “So, where are we going anyways?” Frisk wondered.

   “It’s a surprise. I know it’s cold, but It’ll be worth the walk.” Sans assured.

   “Too bad we don’t have Asgore’s fire magic. This would be right up his alley.”

   “Yeah, but can you imagine how Grillby must’ve felt in Snowdin? Those other monsters practically flocked around him.” Sans told. Frisk let out a short burst of laughter, imagining monsters putting their hands out over his flaming head like it were an actual fireplace.

   Sans couldn’t help but feel a little better, seeing Frisk laugh and smile again. It was a sign that things were going to be okay after all.

   ~---~

   Eventually, they made It to their destination, which had Frisk excited as ever.

   “Oooh! A diner! Come on Sans!” Frisk said pointing towards the door.

   “Hehe. Yeah, I’m coming.” Sans replied. They both climbed up the steps and went inside.

   The two of them were instantly hit with the aroma of coffee and greasy food. There was still a hint of maple syrup in the air, but it was most likely from the breakfast rush that took place hours ago. The place was warm and cozy, but not many people were there. There was a family of five at a table all the way in the back, while an older woman sat by herself at a booth near a window. There were other people eating, but they were in a completely different section of the diner, away from the main lobby. Someone had decorated the restaurant with winter themed items, hanging up plastic snowflakes, and mini figurines of snowmen and pine trees.

   Sans and Frisk both walked up to the front counter, as a young woman lifted her head from the cash register. She had a button up shirt that was neatly tucked into her black pants. She wore a black bow tie around the collar and her hair was tied back into a ponytail.

   “Hi, welcome to-“ She began, but quickly hesitated as she got a good look at Sans. She shook her head, and continued. “Welcome to Top Diner…Um...Is it just you two?” She asked motioning towards the both of them.

   “Yup. Just two.” Sans confirmed. The young lady nodded and reached behind the counter and grabbed an adult menu and a kids menu.

   “Actually, if you don’t mind, could we get two adult menus?” Sans requested. Frisk looked at Sans strangely. Adult menu? He didn’t have to-

   “Sure thing.” The woman replied as she put the kids menu back. “Right this way.” She added, extending her arm towards the booths. The two of them followed her to a booth near the old woman. They both sat down in their seats, as a new waitress came up to them. She had a smile on her face, but Frisk could tell that she was a little surprised to see a skeleton monster before her.

   “Uh, well, hi there! How are ya’ll doing today?” She asked, trying to be as welcoming as possible.

   “We’re doing great.” Sans responded as the waitress reached into her apron and pulled out a mini notebook and pen.

   “Glad to hear it. Anyways, my name is Jolene, I’ll be serving you today. Now, would any of you like anything to drink?”

   “…Can I have a raspberry ice tea?” Frisk asked politely. Jolene nodded as she jot it down on her notepad.

   “Uh…I guess I’ll take a lemonade.” Sans decided. Jolene gave them a warm smile as she clicked her pen and put it away.

   “Alright. You two just sit tight.” She declared as she walked away towards the kitchen.

   When the two of them were finally alone, Frisk said what she was meaning to ask Sans before they sat down.

   “I get an adult menu?” She noted.

   Sans nodded as they both opened up their menus. Frisk read the entrees to herself. So many options! Burgers, Fries, loaded baked potato, soup, ribs, grilled cheese, BLT’s, you name it. Frisk was practically drooling with anticipation.

   “I’m in the mood for some chicken tenders.” Frisk decided.

   Before she knew it, Jolene came back with two tall glasses of lemonade and ice tea. She set it down on the table along with the straws.

   “Have you decided on your order, or do you need more time?” Jolene asked.

   “We’re ready.” Sans confirmed. Jolene whipped out her notepad and pen, ready to write down the order.

   “Go ahead.”

   “I’ll take the Top Diner Club sandwich.” Sans stated. Jolene furiously, scribbled the order onto her paper, before pausing and looking up from her notebook. “And, the kiddo would like some chicken tenders.”

   She wrote it down and turned to them. “And, you’d like fries with both your orders, right?”

  “Right.”

   She wrote one last thing on the paper before she ripped it out from the spirals and clicked her pen one final time.

   “Alright! You two just stay here. Your food will be out in a few.” She finalized. Jolene smiled at them kindly before she took off to place the order.

   Sans and Frisk peeled open their straw wrappers and started to drink from their cups.

   “How’s the raspberry ice tea?” Sans asked, striking up conversation.

   “Great.”

   “Good.”

   “How’s the lemonade?” She asked back.

   Sans shrugged and took another sip.

   “It’s alright. I’d rather be drinking ketchup, but if I start doing that, we might get some weird looks.” He laughed. Frisk chuckled, but then quickly got quiet.

   “Hey…maybe it’s just me, but I think that woman close to us is giving us some dirty looks.” Frisk pointed out, speaking in a low voice. Sans subtly glanced to his left and noticed the lady who was sitting by herself. She _was_ staring at them. She made a sudden stab at her baked potato and shoved the fork angrily into her mouth.

   “…Just ignore her.” Sans muttered, feeling a bit hurt by her actions. “Anyways, I wanted to ask you something. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to okay? But, I got to know…” he trailed off. Frisk momentarily stopped drinking.

   “Was there…anything else you might have done to…to hurt yourself?” Sans carefully phrased. Frisk fiddled with her thumbs for a bit.

   “No. I didn’t do anything else.” She replied truthfully. She grabbed her glass and began drinking it again.

   “Did you…eat regularly?” Sans questioned vaguely. Frisk tilted her head. She paused her drinking for a second.

   “What do you mean?”

   “Well, me and Alphys were just starting to worry that…that you had…you know…” He trailed off. He didn’t want to say it, but Frisk wasn’t catching on.

   “… Been starving yourself?”

   Frisk immediately choked on her drink, not expecting that conclusion. Sans reached over and gave her a few hard pats on the back until she stopped coughing.

   “No! I didn’t…I didn’t… _starve_ myself.” She said whispering the last part. Sans felt an odd weight being lifted form his shoulders.

   “Oh, thank the Stars.” He breathed out.

   “Why would you think that?” Frisk wondered.

   “Well, you were cutting yourself up pretty badly, in fact you almost went as far as to…to..” Sans began, but lost his voice towards the end. “…We didn’t know what else you could have been doing to yourself. And we noticed the significant weight loss on you. You’re nothing but skin and bones kiddo.” Sans defended.

   Frisk sighed. “Yeah…Yeah, I know…”

   She pushed her glass away from her as she slouched in her booth.

   “I mean, I did lose weight over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t because I was starving myself intentionally. I just…I don’t know. I wasn’t hungry. I lost my appetite…and I guess…I lost the will to eat. Not because I wanted to lose weight, or I wanted to harm myself, but because it was too much work. That…that doesn’t make any sense, I know-“

   “No, no, it makes sense to me. I just wanted to make sure.” Sans reassured her. “Glad we’re getting some _meat on your bones._ ” He added. Frisk giggled at his pun.

   Out of the corner of their eye, they noticed the lady shaking her head in disgust.

   “…Soooo…Frisk, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Sans began as he stirred the ice cubes in his lemonade with a straw. He let go of the straw and watched it swirl around in the mini whirlpool he created. “How old are you?”

   Now it was Frisk’s turn to start stirring her drink. She was clearly bothered by the question, and Sans was just about to change the subject until she gave a reply.

   “I don’t know. My mom stopped celebrating my birthday when dad was gone.” She mumbled. “Dates weren’t really that important to her.”

   Sans’ eye lights dimmed slightly at the news.

   “And, what about school? Do you remember what grade you were in before you fell?” He hoped.

   Frisk shook her head.

   “Mom took me out of school when I finished kindergarten. She said she was switching me to homeschool, but…that was a lie.”

   Sans gave a defeated sigh, but then gave her a gentle smile.

   “Okay. It’s alright. I just needed some information to fill in the blanks. Thanks for trying.”

   A couple minutes later and Jolene came out of the kitchen with two plates resting on her hands. She smoothly carried them over to their table and set the plates down in front of them.

   “There we go. Chicken tenders and a club sandwich. Is there anything else you’d like today?” She asked.

   “Nah. I think we’re good.” Sans answered.

   “Well, alright then. Enjoy your meal!” She wished as she walked away to serve another customer. Sans picked up his sandwich and eyed Frisk carefully. Her eyes were big with anticipation as she picked up a chicken tender.

   “Bone-appetite.” Sans winked playfully. Frisk laughed a bit before she took a big bite of her food. She frowned and her jaw opened momentarily as steam escaped from her mouth.

   “Ihs, Hawt!” She said with her mouth full. Sans chuckled slightly and pushed his sandwich to his teeth. He (somehow) took a bite out of the bread.

   Their afternoon continued with the two of them enjoying their food along with each other’s company. It was only a matter of time until that fun was ruined.

  “…Seriously, Papyrus is super ticklish, but he won’t admit it.”

   “Really?”

   “Mhm. Kinda reminds me of someone else.” Sans stated.

   “Like who?” Frisk questioned.

   “Liiiike…you!”

   He grabbed Frisk’s arm and reached over to tickle her side. She gave a loud delighted squeal but quickly pulled away. They both laughed together in their booths until the lady eating close to them finally approached them.

   “Excuse me.” She announced, drawing their attention. She was an older woman with a black coat on and a handbag around her shoulder.

   “..Yes?” Sans cautiously answered back.

   “What were you doing just now?” She interrogated.

   “…W..what?” Sans stuttered, completely confused.

   “Why did you have her hands on her?” She said loudly for everyone in the diner to hear.

   “He was tickling me.” Frisk interrupted.

   “Really? Because it looked like something more was happening here.”

   Frisk’s jaw dropped open in shock as Sans’ eye lights shrank in size.

   “N-no, that’s..he wasn’t doing anything wrong.” Frisk corrected.

   “Honey, you don’t have to lie for him okay? If he was touching you inappropriately then he needs to be brought to justice.”

   Sans’ eye lights completely disappeared, leaving them with two hollow sockets. Frisk felt a surge of anger bubble up inside of her, seeing Sans in such distress.

   “No! He’s my friend-“

   “Sweetie, friends shouldn’t tou-“

   “NO! Sans wasn’t doing anything! He’s my guardian, we were just playing! Please! Leave him alone!” Frisk yelled, finally at her breaking point. The old woman shut up, but Sans was still frozen in his spot, not saying a word.

   “Please…Just leave.” Frisk begged. The woman huffed out in anger but she adjusted the strap of her purse and stormed out.

   Frisk slowly turned to Sans, whose eye lights still hadn’t returned. She put her hand on top of his to get his attention.

   “Hey.” She called out softly. He didn’t move.

   “HEY.” She called out louder. Sans’ head snapped in her direction and his pupils returned.

   “You okay..?”

    Sans cleared his throat.

   “Y…Yeah, yeah…Sorry.”

   “No, it’s okay. That lady was being a jerk.” Frisk muttered eyeing the seat she had sat in.

   “I know, I know. That one just uh…rattled me, I guess.” Sans said while giving a nervous, halfhearted laugh.

   “Don’t worry about it.” Frisk dismissed, trying to ease his nerves. After a few moments of silence, Sans spoke.

   “I..I would never…” He trailed off, at a loss for words. “I would never even…I wouldn’t even…”

   Frisk gave Sans’ boney hand a reassuring squeeze.

   “I know. You’re a good monster Sans. I know you wouldn’t.”

   Sans took a deep breath and nodded. He finally calmed down and took a drink of his almost empty glass of lemonade.

   “…Thanks kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a relatively delightful lunch break. You know, until that lady falsely accused Sans of sexually touching a kid. (Mind your own damn business lady! Let the two cinnamon rolls have a bonding moment here!)   
> Anyways, finals are just around the corner for me, (yaaaaaaaaay...) so I might be a little busy for the next few weeks. I promise things will start picking up the pace as soon as June comes around the corner. Thank you all for your love and support. I really do appreciate it. Stay cool.  
> ~CB


	26. Coping Methods

   With a full belly and a lighter conscious, Sans and Frisk walked back to the house. Sans could see it in Frisk’s face that she was tired, but she was trying not to show it.

   “Thanks Sans, for treating me to lunch.” She spoke.

   “Eh, no problem kiddo. It’s the least I could do after the countless times you treated me in the underground.” He replied while winking playfully. They both knew that Frisk never had to pay for Sans’ bill, despite him saying otherwise.

   While they both walked in comfortable silence, Sans quickly typed a text to Toriel.

   _“Lunch break went well. Heading home now.”_

~---~

   The door to the house pushed open as Sans and Frisk entered.

   “We’re home!” Sans called out. He shut the door behind them as Frisk began taking off her coat. Her cheeks were still rosy from the cold.

   They heard footsteps bolting down the stairs.

   “Aw, sweet! Frisk and Sans are back!” A familiar loud voice announced.

   It was Undyne, who was then followed by Papyrus down the stairwell. Undyne swiftly pulled Frisk up into a hug, her feet dangling above the floor. She noogied her on the head as she shook Frisk side to side.

   “Wah-uah-uah! Don’t shake me too mu-agh-ch! I just ay-ate!” Frisk warned. Undyne ceased shaking and put her back down onto the floor. Frisk wobbled around, trying to shake off the dizziness she caused, almost falling to the ground in the process. She shook her head and smoothed her hair out.

   “Thank you.”

   “How was lunch?” Papyrus asked.

   “Pretty good. Our waitress was nice…the food was good. Can’t complain.” Sans replied while throwing himself onto the couch. He didn’t want to talk about the lady that came up to them, so he didn’t mention it.

   ”Oh! Frisk? I think Toriel wants to speak with you. She’s upstairs in her room.” Papyrus informed. Frisk couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety by that sentence alone. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Toriel, but she was afraid of the things she might bring up. She was afraid of being interrogated about ‘The Incident.’

   However, if it were Sans that was interrogating her, then she would not have felt as nervous. Sans had a peaceful aura that surrounded him no matter where he went. His easy going and laid-back nature made it easier to talk to him. Toriel on the other hand, means well, but her stern and motherly side often took over. She wasn’t mean, or scary, per say. It was just harder for Frisk to get through to her on a real level like with Sans. Talking with Toriel meant that if you wanted advice, she was going to give it to you- but not on equal grounds, but as a mother to a child.

  Nonetheless, Frisk still loved Toriel, and she treated her way better than her actual mother, so up the stairs she went.

   When she reached the top of the stairwell, she went straight ahead to Toriel’s room. The door was wide open but she still slowly walked in to be safe. Toriel’s room was smaller than her old one, but it was still the largest bedroom in the house. She was on her bed looking through a text book. She briefly glanced up and her face lit up when she saw Frisk in the doorway.

   “Hello my child! Care to sit?” She offered.

   “Sure.” Frisk accepted as she sat down across from her on the foot of the bed.

   “You wanted to talk with me?” She added, cutting to the chase. Toriel nodded as she flipped through some more pages.

   “I’ve been meaning to ask…what grade are you in Frisk?”

   Well that anti-climactic. Frisk laughed quietly to herself at the thought.

   “What’s so funny?”

   “…Heh. Nothing. It’s just that you’re the second person who has asked me that today.” Frisk explained.

   “Oh! Who else asked you?” Toriel wondered.

   “Sans, during our lunch break.”

   “Oh.”

   Frisk started picking out the fuzz balls attached to the blanket.

   “I don’t know. My mom took me out of school after kindergarten, but she never homeschooled me or anything.” She finally answered.

   Toriel looked a little heartbroken by the information.

   “Oh dear…well, do you know how old you are?”

   Frisk laughed again.

   “That was another question Sans asked. I don’t know anymore. My mom stopped celebrating my birthday after dad…after he was gone.” Frisk explained suddenly getting sad. Toriel stopped flipping through the pages and made eye contact with Frisk.

   “Frisk…if…if you don’t mind me asking…what…what _did_ happen to your father?”

   Frisk didn’t answer. She just shut down, completely enveloped in her own memories and thoughts.

   “He died a while ago…It doesn’t matter right now.” She dismissed. It took everything in her power to not fiddle with the bandages on her arms. Toriel felt guilty for mentioning it so she brought Frisk into a tight side-hug.

   “I’m sorry. We don’t have to discuss it.” She simply said.

   “Ok.” Frisk agreed. “…But, just wondering…why are you asking this stuff?”

   Toriel sat up and flipped to the first page of the text book.

   “I was thinking that maybe we could get you back into school.”

   Frisk was shocked. Back into school? Where would she even begin? She hasn’t been to school in so long-

   “I know it seems scary, but just hear me out, okay?” Toriel persisted. Frisk nodded her head.

   “If you’re interested, you would have to take a test to evaluate what level your curriculum should be taught in. You have shown me that you have the capability to read and write, so that’s a good sign. Once you’ve taken the test, they will put you in a classroom, where they will teach you everything you have to catch up on. If all goes accordingly, you will be placed in a multiage classroom.” She explained.

   “What’s a multiage classroom?”

   “A multiage classroom is a classroom with different age groups combined into one area. Some people in a multiage classroom are put in there because they are falling behind the rest of the kids that are their age, just like you. But in some instances, a multiage group is great for a younger kid who advance past their normal age group and want something more ahead of their level. We have all sorts of kids in our classrooms. The youngest person in our class is six, and the oldest person in our class is thirteen.”

   “Doesn’t it get confusing? Like, are you teaching this thirteen year old how to add one plus one because there’s a six year old there too?”

   “No, no, it’s not exactly like that. We teach each child according to their individual needs. It just so happens that they share the same classroom.” Toriel elaborated. Frisk couldn’t lie, this sounded interesting.

   “So…I’d be put into this class…and then, you guys just teach me whatever I need help on?”

   “Exactly.”

   Frisk thought it over. It seemed like a good idea.

   “Will you be my teacher?” She asked.

   “In a sense. There are two other teachers in the room but I’ll be there to help you if I can.”

   “You’ll be there the whole time?”

   “Of course.”

   Frisk thought to herself some more. She should accept. She had to start over, and build a new life from the broken pieces. The monsters did it when they returned to the surface, so she should too. Leave all of the pain and tragedies behind. Learn to grow and become a better person. There was more to life than watching TV on the couch all day. She needed some new hobbies. New friends. Anything that would distract her from her self-destructing thoughts when she was alone.

   But going to school so suddenly after she had just attempted suicide? It didn’t seem right. Such a big change in her life after such a devastating moment. She needed to wind down. She needed to fix herself before she felt like starting something new. She had to work on her inner battles, and going to school for the first time in years was just asking for trouble. She had to become emotionally stable first.

   She decided on her final answer.

   “I accept. I want to go to school, “She started, casing Toriel to smile happily. “-But not right now.”

   Toriel was briefly taken aback by the answer.

   “Mom…I…I don’t know. I feel like you aren’t taking this seriously.” Frisk confessed.

   “What do you mean?”

   “It feels like you’re ignoring what just happened yesterday. It just happened yesterday.” Frisk clarified.

   Toriel was silent. She knew what she was referring to.

   “I’m not ignoring it. It’s just hard for me to believe-“

   “Believe what?” Frisk cut off.

   “…Believe that…you…my little sunshine…would ever…” She trailed off. Her voice was wavering. “Would ever take your own life. I thought everything was okay…”

   Toriel was weeping now, and Frisk felt awful for even bringing it up.

   “I know it doesn’t seem like I care about it,” Toriel said through tears. “But I do. I just want you to be happy. My way of coping is to keep myself busy, but I now realize that that’s not _your_ way of coping, is it?”

   _“Mom…”_

Frisk’s eyes widened at the intruding voice in her head.

   …Chara?

   But before Frisk could even question it, the voice was gone. She returned her attention towards Toriel who was wiping her tears away.

   “Please don’t cry mom. I’m sorry. I know you just want to help. You don’t have to feel guilty.” Frisk insisted.

   “And I’m sorry for ignoring this whole incident today. I guess I’m still getting over the shock.” She apologized.

   Frisk got closer to Toriel and wrapped her arms around her. She hugged her as tightly as she could, and Toriel returned the gesture.

   “You don’t have to go to school if you do not want to.”

   “No. I want to. I just need some time to get better.” Frisk replied.

   “Okay. I’ll be here for you the whole way through. I promise I won’t ignore you or dismiss your problems anymore.”

   That’s what got Frisk into breaking down into tears.

   “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK! Thank you guys so much for waiting patiently for this chapter. I'm on summer break, so chapters should be coming out much more frequently! As a reward for waiting so long, you get a long chapter to read. (^-^)  
> A lot of stuff went down in this chapter huh? Frisk's going to start attending school soon, (Good luck Frisk. You're gonna need it.) and Chara peaked out for a split second. Hmm. I wonder what significance that has to the up coming chapters. HMMMMMMMMM.  
> ANYWAYS  
> thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Stay cool.  
> ~CB


	27. Preparation

   After that confrontation with Toriel, everyone in the household gathered around for dinner. When they finished eating, Undyne thanked Toriel and went home, while Papyrus got ready for bed.

   Frisk warily glanced at Sans.

   “Is it safe to go inside my room?” She asked.

   “Yep. You want to check out?”

   “Yeah.”

   The two of them climbed up the stairs and stopped before the broken door.

   “Sorry about the door. Can’t exactly do much at the moment…but the rest is fine.” Sans apologized. Frisk slowly pushed opened the door to reveal a spotless room. There were no splinters on the floor, no mess. The room smelled like lemons, and best of all, there wasn’t a single drop of blood left on the floor. Frisk suddenly turned towards Sans and gave him a hug.

   “Thank you. You’re my hero.”

~---~

   Over the next two months, Frisk had been staying home with Sans as she mentally prepared herself for her return to school. Toriel had been trying her best at making the transition easier for her, and even Sans decided to offer some help. It felt like the longest two months of Frisk’s life.

   ~---~

   Within the first 2 weeks, it was time for Frisk’s stitches to come out.

   “Okay Frisk. I-I’ll try to make this quick.” Alphys assured her. The two of them were sitting in the kitchen chairs with Sans and Undyne crowding around them.

   “Is this gonna hurt?” Frisk hesitantly asked Alphys. She picked up two small metal tools about the size of a scalpel.

   “No. I-It shouldn’t at least.”

   “This is the easy part!” Undyne encouraged. “Plus, imagine the cool scar you’ll get afterwards!”

   “I don’t know…A self-harm scar isn’t exactly cool. I hope when I go to school, people won’t ask about it.” Frisk admitted as Alphys began undoing the sutures.

   “Aww, c’mon. Don’t look at it that way. Scars are good. Scars are a sign of healing.” Sans interrupted. Undyne nodded her head.

   “Yeah! Sans is right! Scars show that you’ve been through shit, but you made it out alive. They show how strong you are!” Undyne added. Frisk could tell that she was getting excited because of the way she raised her voice. Undyne then pointed to her eyepatch with her thumb and gave her infamous toothy grin. Frisk couldn’t help but smile back in return.

   She sure was lucky to have such great friends.

~---~

   The next few days after that Toriel and Frisk decided to start shopping for school supplies.

   “Which bookbag would you like my child?” Toriel asked.

   “Um…this one!” Frisk decided as she pointed to the navy-blue backpack.

   “Excellent choice.” Toriel complemented. She looked down at the yellow sticky note in her hand and checked ‘backpack’ off the list of school supplies.

   “Alright. Next…”

~---~

   Suddenly, one day while Frisk was doing a jigsaw puzzle with Sans, she revealed something about her past.

   “You’re so nice Sans.” She randomly stated. The comment caused Sans to look up, breaking his concentration.

   “Nice?” He repeated in disbelief.

   “Yeah. Nice.” Frisk confirmed as she picked up a puzzle piece and snapped it into its proper place.

   “Uh…Ok.” Sans hesitantly accepted. Sans didn’t think of himself as nice anymore. Not since he yelled at Frisk and drove her to harm herself.

   “You are! You’re like, the best guardian ever!” Frisk insisted. “We have lunch together, we sit and watch TV, we play games together...” She listed.

   “And you keep me safe…and you protect me…And you don’t get angry and hit me.” Frisk said, suddenly getting quieter. Sans froze in his seat. Frisk met his gaze with a bittersweet smile.

   “And even though you drink spiked ketchup every once in a while, you never get drunk. And you don’t starve me if I do something disappointing. And you’re very patient and caring…and gentle. You never push or pull me, or grab me by my hair. And you comfort me when I’m having a bad day…which...to be fair…has been almost everyday…” She trailed off. She quickly shook her head.

   “…So…Thank you.”

   Sans was humbled by her praise. But the poor girl had been through so much. Sans couldn’t help but feel a little sad hearing the things that her real mother had done.

   “…Of course, baby bones.”

~---~

   That wasn’t the last time Frisk brought up her mother. In a sense, Sans was pleased that Frisk was becoming more open about it. It was a sign that she was trying to get over her fears, and Sans admired that. Although, the child still kept most of it vague.

   While the two were watching a movie, Sans had started to doze off alerting Frisk’s attention.

   “Hey! Don’t fall asleep on me yet! It’s just getting good!” Frisk whined. Sans yawned loudly in response.

   “M’sorry. I’m just tired.” He mumbled while rubbing his eye sockets.

   “But you’re always tired.” Frisk pointed out.

   “I know, I know. I can’t do much about it.” He shrugged. It got silent for a moment, but Frisk finally said something.

   “C…Can I ask you a personal question?”

   Sans straighten his posture to show he was listening.

   “Shoot kid.”

   “Do you have some sort of sleeping disorder?”

   Sans knew that Frisk was going to ask eventually so he wasn’t as fazed as Frisk feared he would be. He grabbed the TV remote and lowered the volume to talk.

   “Nah... I don’t think it’s a disorder or anything. It’s just what happens when you have 1 HP.”

   Frisk felt crushed. She didn’t think that his HP would have affected his sleeping habits too.

   “Sans…I’m so sorry…”

   “Ehhh, don’t worry too much about it. Besides, skeletons don’t need to sleep as often as humans do. Pap can go days without rest.” Sans informed trying to lighten the mood. Frisk sat closer to him to try and offer solace.

   “And your nightmares...? Do you get them a lot?” She worried, recalling back to when she had to shake him awake to stop it.

   “…I used to get them at least once every week. They don’t happen as often like before, and they really aren’t that scary anymore.” Sans admitted.

  “…Well that’s good.”

   Sans chuckled lightly.

   “Yeah. It is.” He agreed. “Now…is it my turn to ask some questions about you?”

   “Hmm…Sure. It’s only fair.” Frisk accepted.

   “You talk a lot about your mom…but what about you dad?” He questioned. Frisk bowed her head and stared at the ground.

   “I already told you…He died a while ago.” She mumbled in reply.

   “Well yeah…but I was hoping you could tell me what he was like when he was still alive...?”

   Frisk lifted her head and thought long and hard.

   “He was a good person. He was an artist, and he knew how to sing. He liked showing me how to paint and he would always paint full portraits of me and my mom on canvas. He was kinda short and skinny but he loved me and my mother a lot…” Frisk described, her eyes lighting up in a way Sans had never seen before.

   “Sounded like a great guy.” Sans spoke. “You don’t have to answer this next question If you aren’t ready but uh…what caused his death?”

   The question alone brought Frisk an entire world of pain. She remained frozen on the couch, the tears building in her eyes as the memories flooded her brain.

   “It was my fault.” She whispered. A single tear silently fell from her eye. It dropped straight onto her lap.

   “He got in a car accident. I kept bothering him so he would go the store and bring me candy even though he was tired.” She explained her voice wavering. Sans’ permanent grin transfixed into a sorrowful grimace.

  “I sent him out there and he died. I shouldn’t have begged him to go…” Frisk trailed off as the tears came running down her face. She didn’t bother wiping them away. Instead she trailed her fingers over her self-harm scars on her forearm. Sans had been noticing how she sometimes touched the raised scars when she felt distraught or uncomfortable. He didn’t point it out because it seemed to be, (in an odd way) a coping method for Frisk. As long as she wasn’t pinching or scratching the skin then it was fine by him.

   “Mom blames me. That’s why she hates me. Because it was my fault…It should have been me.”

   Sans decided that he had had enough. He suddenly pulled Frisk into a tight hug, silencing her completely.

   **“No way.”**

   Frisk was entirely thrown off guard with his voice change.

   **“…No way.”** He repeated. Thoughts of the other runs flooded his mind. How he saw Papyrus’ scarf in the snow that day. How he just knew that his brother was gone. How he blamed himself and wished it were him. Wished he was the one that was killed, because Papyrus deserved a long happy life, unlike him.

   He knew how she felt.

   **“Even if you feel responsible, I want you to do me a favor, and get rid of that thought immediately.”**

   A sniffing sound came from Frisk.

   **“Your dad did not die because of you. He died because of the crash. Not. You. You can’t blame yourself because it was an accident. Accidents happen and you had no control over the situation.”**

“But if I didn’t- “

   **“No.”**

“But- “

  **“No.”** Sans cut off. **“That’s like saying if Pap died on the street by a mugger, it would be my fault because I asked him if he could stop by the post office or something.”**

   **“And even though your mother blamed you, we both know that _she_ was the one in the wrong. Right?”**

   He cleared his throat and pulled away from Frisk to meet her gaze. The tears had significantly slowed down, and she gave a slight nod.

   “So don’t think that way, OK? It was just an accident. You didn’t cause it, so don’t beat yourself up over it.” He said fixing his voice.

   Frisk reluctantly nodded.

   “Okay…”

~---~

   Frisk had to admit, opening up to Sans had become therapeutic. She said a little bit of something every now and then. Some things were happy memories and some of them were more morbid. Nonetheless, Sans listened, and offered comfort and his own thoughts on the matter.

~---~

   Frisk wasn’t the only one who revealed their hidden secrets.

   One day after dinner, Frisk went upstairs to grab her hair brush so Toriel could comb it out nicely on the couch. She picked it up and made her way down the steps, until a certain sound stopped her in her tracks.

   It was Sans. He was standing over the sink, scrubbing the dinner dishes. He was doing something that caught Frisk’s attention.

   He was singing to himself.

   “Goodnight, my angel…time to close your eyes…And save these questions for another day.”

   His voice was smooth and held so much passion.

   “I think I know what you’ve been asking me…I think you know what you’ve been trying to say. I promised I would never leave you.”

   Yet he sang it so quietly and gently, as if he were speaking to a baby.

   “And you should always know….wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away…”

   Frisk quietly crept closer to him, smiling cheerfully.

   “That was great.”

   Sans jumped twenty feet into the air while giving a short squeak while Frisk giggled to herself. Sans turned around, his face tinted bright blue.

   “Jeez kiddo! You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that!” He hissed.

   “Haha! Sorry. It’s just that, I heard you singing when I was coming downstairs. I couldn’t help myself.” Frisk explained. The color in Sans’ face only grew brighter.

   “Wow…I’ve never seen your face so blue! I noticed that whenever you get flustered or embarrassed. You shouldn’t be embarrassed Sans. You have a good singing voice.”

   “N…No I don’t!” Sans weakly argued.

   “Yes, you do!”

   “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

   “Sans!”

   “Kid!”

   “Sans!”

   “Kid!”

   “Sans!”

   Toriel popped into the kitchen with a stern look on her face.

   “What’s all the commotion?” She asked.

   “Sans can si-“

   Sans placed a hand onto Frisk’s mouth. She flinched, making Sans feel a twinge of guilt.

   “No commotion! No commotion at all!” Sans replied. Toriel shot him a skeptical look.

   “…Ok…” She said, as she walked back over to the living room. When she was gone, Sans removed his hand on Frisk’s mouth. She playfully stuck her tongue at him.

   “You made me flinch.” She complained.

   “Sorry.”

   She gave him a gentle shove.

   “Don’t worry. I have blackmail on you now.” She sneered.

   Sans groaned.

   “Agggghhhh why meeeeee?”

~---~

   “Why don’t you sing in front of people?” Frisk questioned while Sans was taking care of her.

   “Oh, not this again…” Sans whined.

   “If you would just answer the question, I wouldn’t have to keep asking about it.” Frisk shot back.

   Sans silently pouted to himself for a minute before he finally answered.

   “I’m just shy.”

   “Yeah, right.” Frisk teased. When Sans didn’t say anything else, Frisk got silent too.

   “Wait…seriously?”

   “Yeah.”

   Now Frisk felt like a jerk for making fun of him.

   “Oh…I’m sorry Sans. I thought all this time you were joking…” She admitted.

   “It’s ok. I can do stand-up comedy for a crowd, but I just can’t sing. Isn’t that ironic?” He mused. Frisk hugged him in reply.

   “Nah. It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone anyways. Your secret’s safe with me.” Frisk assured him.

   “Not sure if it’s a secret if Undyne and Alphys already know since I sang to you that one time.” Sans chuckled. “But I do appreciate the sentiment.”

~---~

   Those two months flew before Frisk would know it. She felt like she was ready to move on with her life, and start going to school.

   “Are you absolutely sure?” Toriel asked one final time.

   “Positive.”

   Toriel led her upstairs and stopped before Papyrus’ room. She knocked on the door to see if he was inside.

   “Yes?” He called out merrily.

   “Papyrus? Can Frisk use your computer?” Toriel replied.

   There was some shuffling coming from his side. He swung open the door and welcomed the two of them in his room.

   “Thank you, Papyrus.” Toriel said sweetly.

   His room was a little bare compared to his old one in Snowdin, but that was probably because his room was bigger. He still had his bookcase and race car bed. He hung the pirate flag on the wall next to the computer. The only thing that was different was the color of the walls and the carpet.

   Frisk pulled out the computer chair that was in front of Papyrus’ desk as Toriel began typing some things in the search engine.

   “Like I said before, you’ll have to take an online test deciding what level your curriculum should be taught in. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know the answer. The test is just to see what you know.” Toriel assured her. Papyrus gasped behind them.

   “Frisk…? Are you finally going to attend…school?” He wondered. Frisk nodded confidently, which resulted in Papyrus bursting out into high pitched squeals.

   “I knew this day would come! I’m so proud of you human! I have to tell the others about this!” He excitedly stated. He quickly ran out the room and shut the door behind them in search of the other boss monsters.

   Frisk couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm. She felt good. She felt…

   Determined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hoooooooo boy! This chapter was probably my longest one yet. It's 2,586 words long to be exact! I'm sorry if this chapter was confusing, so just to clarify, everything that happened in this chapter happened in a span of two months. I tried to keep an equal balance of angst and fluff (and Bashful Sans moments!) so I hope it was okay.   
> Next chapter will be Frisk's first day of school.  
> Thank you all so much for reading. Stay cool!  
> ~CB


	28. School

   A blaring alarm bell cut through the early morning darkness, startling Frisk awake. She lazily drifted her hand over her cell phone and stopped the loud cheery music. She brought her phone closer to her face, unplugging it from her charger. Her eyes were immediately blinded by the LED lights as she tried to read the time. She blinked a few times and forced her eyes open. Six am. Yikes.

   She went to bed on time the night prior, but her body still wasn’t used to waking up so early. Nonetheless, despite how tired Frisk felt, she was also excited. It was her first day of school! After months of anticipation it was finally here.

   Frisk yawned and pushed the covers away from her. A chill crawled up her spine as the cold air made contact with her skin. She slowly stood up, her feet touching the hard floor. It was mid-winter now so she would have to ask Toriel if she could start raising the heat. Toriel had warm fur, so she didn’t really mind the cold too much. As for Sans and Papyrus, they were literal skeletons, so keeping warm was neither a necessity or a luxury they sought for. Luckily, Frisk wasn’t the only one who felt the cold. Alphys and Undyne frequently avoided the great outdoors just for that very reason.

   “You’re crazy if you think I’m coming over just for a snowball fight. No way I’m going out there! I’ll turn into frozen sushi in minutes!” Undyne had said one day.

   “Yeah, I’d rather just watch a-anime inside with Undyne.” Alphys honestly responded.

   Frisk pulled herself back from the memory and hurriedly got dressed. The school required a specific uniform so she was somewhat relieved to know that she’ll look exactly as the other kids. If that weren’t the case, she was going to wear her same old generic shirt but the other boss monsters were trying to encourage her to try different clothing. This way she would have more options when she wasn’t in school, and become more comfortable with finding her style.

   “Frisk, I think you’d look good in a flannel!” Undyne advised.

   “Wear something with boots!” Papyrus included.

   “My child, you should pick something warm. I know it’s getting colder now and all…”

   “Hoodies are n-nice and warm. P-Plus they look great on anybody.”

   “I can knit you a sweater! I can even teach you while we have a nice cup of tea if you’d like?”

   Everyone was just trying to help, and Frisk appreciated it but it became a little overwhelming. She turned to Sans since he was the only one who’s opinion wasn’t shared with about the matter. He was drinking a cup of coffee in a mug one Saturday morning with a frown on his face.

   “Sans? What do…” Frisk trailed off as Sans’ frown did not falter. He looked genuinely upset yet confused, and it made Frisk use everything in her power to not burst out in giggles at the expression he bore.

   “Are you…okay?” She asked.

   “Oh yeah I’m alright. I’m trying more foods and drinks now since we’re here on the surface. First attempt at coffee…” He said while swishing the liquid in his cup.

   “Really? I mean, I would have figured you’d have tried coffee by now. So, what’d you think of it?” She asked curiously.

   Sans set the mug back down, his frown still set on his face.

   “I think it’s the last time too. I’ll just stick to ketchup.”

   Frisk laughed at the ridiculousness of the sentence.

   “Anyways, what were you gonna ask kiddo?” Sans brought up.

   “Oh, right! So, what do you think I should start wearing? Everyone’s giving me advice and I wanted to hear from you. Any ideas?”

   “You’re asking me? The guy who literally wears basketball shorts and pink fuzzy slippers?”

   Frisk laughed again.

   “Yeah. I guess so.” She added confidently.

   “Kid, _tibia_ honest, I don’t give a shit about what you wear. I don’t care if you wear fancy clothes or sweatpants. It really doesn’t matter to me. Kiddo, you could literally wear a trash bag as a dress and I’d think it would look great.”

   Frisk giggled at Sans’ bluntness. He was right.

   That moment had given her some clarity and she settled on her wardrobe options. She took advice from everyone, but she made sure she was satisfied with her choices in the end.

   Frisk swiftly pulled out a white polo shirt, followed by black pants from her closet. She put them on and put on her black shoes to go with it. She closed the closet door and searched inside her drawers for the final touch- the tie. Frisk had to admit, wearing the plaid tie made her feel fancy, and the boss monsters agreed that it made Frisk look cool too.

   She began tying it by herself, but she eventually got confused and gave up. She’ll ask someone else to help her.

   When she was done getting dressed, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, Frisk couldn’t help but think about the new door that Sans finally installed. The new door had a fully functioning lock now, but Frisk knew that Sans felt anxious or even uneasy when she used it, so she often kept it unlocked just to soothe his nerves. She already promised she wouldn’t try anything that extreme again.

   Frisk finished up by washing her face and brushing her hair. She quickly brushed her teeth and went downstairs to see what Toriel was up to. Toriel’s eyes lit up as soon as Frisk reached the bottom of the stairs.

   “Wow! Look at you! All cute and tidy with your uniform!” She complemented. She noticed Frisk’s tie dangling sloppily around her collar and pulled it off her. “Let’s see if I remember how to do this…” She mumbled.

   “Anyways, did you sleep well my child?” She asked as she began fixing Frisk’s tie.

   “I slept good. Not enough though.” Frisk admitted sheepishly.

   “Yes, it is quite early. You’ll get used to it after a while.” She consoled as she finished her work. “There.” She finalized.

   “Thank you.”

   “I realized that we didn’t have any eggs, so I couldn’t make French toast today. Maybe if Sans or Papyrus pick some up at the grocery store, I’ll make you some tomorrow. For now, we’ll just have cereal.” She informed, making her way into the kitchen. Frisk followed after her as she patiently waited for her cereal. The cupboards were placed up higher than most homes would have, due to Papyrus and Toriel both being incredibly tall. Sans and Frisk on the other hand struggled due to their short stature, so Frisk would have to climb on the countertops, whereas Sans would just use blue magic to get what he needed.

   When Frisk was done eating breakfast she excitedly rushed towards the door, as Toriel grabbed her bag and followed after. Toriel handed Frisk her coat, along with her schoolbag full of supplies.

   “I’m so excited mom!” Frisk announced, in a hushed whisper. She knew that Sans and Papyrus were sleeping and she didn’t want to wake them with her yelling. Toriel chuckled.

   “I’m glad you are.”

~---~

   After a ten-minute drive, Toriel and Frisk got out the car once they were in the parking lot. Frisk got a good look at the school. It wasn’t very big, and the exterior was layered with bricks with big rectangular windows on display. It looked welcoming.

   Toriel held Frisk’s hand as they walked to the front doors. It was locked, as expected. Nobody was around, and it was oddly quiet.

   “Is everyone inside already?” Frisk asked.

   “No, we’re just a bit early. As a teacher, I have to get here earlier than the students so I have time to settle in and prepare everything.” Toriel explained as she entered in a code in the nearby keypad.

   “But what about me? Am I allowed to go in yet?” Frisk worried. The keypad made a beeping sound, and the door made a clicking noise.

   “You’re fine. You’re with me, so it’s alright.” She assured her. They both stepped inside, letting the door lock behind them.

   Directly in front of them was a security guard working the front desk. There was a hallway on the right side and another door on the left. The guard’s eyes lit up when he saw the two enter.

   “Good morning Toriel,” He greeted warmly. He had blonde straight hair with black rectangular glasses. He wore an all-black uniform and he was drinking out of a silver canister that Frisk assumed was coffee judging from the steam and the smell. If Frisk were honest, he didn’t look that intimidating for a security guard.

   “Oh? And who’s that little one hiding behind you?” He asked. The question only made Frisk hide away even more.

   “This is Frisk. She’s a new student here now.” Toriel introduced. She nudged Frisk forward, to which she nervously waved hello.

   “Frisk huh? That’s a nice name.”

   Frisk felt her hair stand on the back of her neck. That sentence gave her some strange déjà vu.

   “Well, I hope you like it here Frisk. Go on ahead with Toriel.” He dismissed. Toriel gave him a kind smile and the two of them walked through the door towards the left.

   Frisk walked close to Toriel as she drew in her surrounds. They passed by the auditorium, and some other offices with busy staff at work. They made another left down a long hallway where all the classrooms where located. There was artwork and other academic projects showcased and hung up on the wall for display. Each one of them were created with construction paper, markers, and glue. Every classroom they rushed by had been occupied with teachers talking and mingling with one another.

   Frisk snapped out of her daze when Toriel came to a halt.

   “This is it. Room B5.” She announced. The door was closed, but the lights were on, and Frisk could hear someone talking on the other side. Toriel pulled out her ID tag, and took out a set of keys with it. She pushed the key in the lock and opened the door.

   The classroom was bigger than Frisk expected it to be. It had big bulky desks in neat rows with colorful carpet underneath. There were bookshelves near the windows in the back and there were quite a few round tables as well.  By the door was a supply closet, and the room was full of cheerful and motivational posters. There was a giant whiteboard space at the front of the classroom with nothing but the date written on it. Above the whiteboard was a wall clock. The time said it was 6:52.

   Frisk’s ears hadn’t deceived her either. There were two other teachers in the room with them.

   “Good morning Toriel! Is that the little one?” One said. She was a bit chubby, but she gave off a kind aura Frisk couldn’t explain. She had bright white teeth and hazel eyes with short black hair.

   “Oh, how cute! Hi, you must be Frisk. Ms. Toriel has told us so much about you.” The other lady said. She was thin and stalky and she looked a bit older than the other teacher. She had brown puffy hair with green eyes.

   “I am Mrs. Park.” The first teacher said.

    “And I am Mrs. Dodd.” The second one said.

   “Nice to meet you.” Frisk shyly greeted. Mrs. Dodd went towards her desk and pulled out a few papers. She quickly scanned them and found the seating chart for Frisk.

   “Alright…Frisk…You are on a level three learning level, so you’ll be sitting here.” She said pointing to the chart. Mrs. Park pointed to the exact desk in the third row second one from the front.

   “But before you do that, you can hang up your coat in the back closet over there.” Mrs. Dodd added. Close to the supply closet was a sink, and on the very back wall, was a giant closet with small plastic hooks used for storage. Frisk warily looked at Toriel, to which she gave a nod in confirmation. She walked towards the back and neatly hung up her coat. She sat down in her assigned desk and got a pencil from her bookbag.

   “So, Frisk! what kind of things do you like? What do you like to do for fun? Do you play any sports?” Mrs. Beagle wondered. She was trying to get Frisk to loosen up and become more comfortable with her environment.

   “Um…I don’t play any sports. But I like to draw and watch TV.” She answered quietly.

   “Oh, you like to draw? That’s really cool. You have to show us one day. That would be really great.” Mrs. Dodd spoke.

   “So, what’s it like being the ambassador for the monsters? I’m sure it must be a big responsibility!”

   “Yeah. It is…well, _was._ ” Frisk quickly corrected. “I don’t really go to the meetings anymore. Maybe one day I’ll go back. For now, the king is taking control.” She explained.

   “Oh, I see. And what was it like down in the underground?” Mrs. Park asked curiously.

   “It was…It was kind of awesome.” Frisk honestly said, reminiscing in the past. “All the monsters were very nice to me, and I made a lot of friends with them. Even though there was no sunlight down there, they had these beautiful shiny crystals on the ceiling that glowed at night.”

   The two teachers continued to make general conversation to kill time, and to get to know Frisk a little bit more.  She became more comfortable with them, and didn’t seem as timid as when she first entered the room. Before she knew it, the bell rang, and the school day had started.

   The clock struck 7:10 and kids started flooding into the building. Toriel, Mrs. Park and Mrs. Dodd stood by the doorway greeting the children that came in as Frisk watched from her desk.

   Two kids, a boy and a girl walked in at the same time. They were younger than Frisk with light blonde hair and brown eyes. Their eyes opened wide upon seeing Frisk.

  “Who’s she?” The boy asked.

   “That’s Frisk. She’s a new student here.” Toriel answered.

   “New student? Cool!” The girl piped up. They both walked to the storage closet and hung up their coats.

   Another student walked in. He was dark skinned and had small glasses resting on his face. He went straight to the back closet before taking notice of Frisk.

   More and more children entered the room by the second. It became a little overwhelming for Frisk.

   A little girl walked in with brown curly ringlet hair and green eyes. She was the smallest one so far.

   Another girl came in who was much older than the previous one. She was pale and had short dark hair with bracelets and pins galore.

   A boy came in with caramel skin, humming a song to himself while he nodded his head in rhythm.

   An Asian girl came dashing in, her long hair in a ponytail with an excited grin on her face.

   A boy who was the quietest one of all, and had barely made any contact at all had swiftly settled in.

   A girl who had her head held high and lowly muttered a hello to the teachers.

   A boy who was the complete opposite of the previous kids and made a huge racket entering the classroom. He was the loudest one yet.

   And last but not least, a quiet girl who looked extremely tired, but still managed to keep the smile on her face.

   Altogether, that left twelve children in total inside the classroom. Frisk counted the desks surrounding her. There were twenty desks. Why were there so many unused desks? If nobody was using them then why were they here in the first place?

   Frisk decided not to worry too much about it. She had bigger things to focus on anyways.

   The bell rang one final time and everyone had settled into their seats. They were whispering to each other and staring at Frisk like she was an alien. The scattered seating arrangement only made it more uncomfortable.

   Mrs. Dodd stepped to the front of the classroom and clapped her hands five times in a rhythmic pattern. When she stopped clapping, the entire classroom immediately echoed and repeated by clapping back. Frisk was bewildered when the children had gone silent, giving their attention to Mrs. Dodd.

   “Good morning everyone.” The teacher greeted.

   “Good morning Mrs. Dodd!” The class robotically replied. Frisk was a bit creeped out by the drone-like behavior.

   “I hope you all are having a great morning so far. Today we have some exciting news to share with you. As you may have noticed as you walked in, we have a new student in the classroom!” She eagerly informed. She extended her hand towards Frisk’s seat, motioning towards the class where she was sitting. “Her name is Frisk, so please be kind to her and make sure to give her a warm welcome to our classroom.”

~---~

   Science.

   That was the very first subject of the day. Frisk was baffled. Learning science, this early in the morning? She could barely function properly. How was she supposed to learn when she wasn’t fully alert and ready to go?

   The classroom was split into five various levels of learning. From what Frisk understood, she was going to be taught on a third level of learning along with three other kids. The same three kids that she saw enter the classroom first. The levels of learning were also divided by row, which is why she sat in the third column.

   Row by row, the teachers called on the students to sit at a round table secluded at the corner of the room. The level one students were called first, and the two children sitting in the first column of desks gathered around the table with Toriel. Level two students were called up next with Mrs. Park. And last but not least, level three students were with Mrs. Dodd. The level four and five learners were told to quietly work on their packets or any missing work they had until the level one students were done with Toriel.

   Frisk grabbed a pencil and her notebook before walking over to the round table. The other two kids sat at the table next to Frisk, giving their attention to Mrs. Dodd.

   “Okay guys. Today we’re starting a new unit, about our solar system!” She excitedly stated. Frisk’s eyes lit up, along with the other children. They gasped excitedly as the teacher chuckled.

   “Now, what do we know about our solar system?” She asked.

   “It’s huuuuge!” The blonde-haired boy said. Mrs. Dodd chuckled again.

   “You’re going to have to tell me more than that Zeke.”

   “We have nine planets!” He added. The blonde-haired girl quickly cut him off.

   “Actually Zeke, we have eight planets now.” The girl corrected.

   “Very good Allison. Why eight?”

   “Because now Pluto is technically a dwarf planet.” The dark-skinned kid explained.

   “Damion’s right Zeke.” Mrs. Dodd confirmed. Zeke visibly deflated in his chair causing Allison to giggle. “Is there any other misconceptions people may have about our solar system?”

   “Some people think that the sun is a planet. It’s actually a star.” Frisk finally spoke.

   “Very good Frisk!” Mrs. Dodd cheered. Frisk beamed brightly at the praise. It made her feel smart.

   “You all know a lot of stuff, but there’s a lot of things you have yet to learn! Let’s begin with the planet names…”

~---~

   Next on the schedule was health.

   Health class was a bit more disorganized compared to science. Instead of each teacher calling up each row, the teachers came to the students. Each student was given a packet with worksheets and information in them. If Frisk were honest, health was a lot less interesting than science. She wasn’t sure what the other students in the other levels were learning, but the third level students were learning about safety. Things like what to do in a fire, or how to be safe around guns.

   Frisk mentally facepalmed. A lot of this stuff was easy. She was going to have so much fun complaining to Sans about it. Although, Frisk couldn’t completely discredit it. She didn’t know the “Stop, Drop, And Roll,” technique for if you were ever on fire. Not that she would probably ever use it, but it was still helpful information to know.

~---~

   Frisk exceled at the next subject, which was English. Even though her real mother hadn’t taught her anything while she was homeschooled, Frisk had plenty of books laying around for her to read. Along with some help from the internet, she was able to teach herself how to read.

   Currently, Frisk was reading a short chapter book about a girl who found a dog at a super market. The other levels were reading different books. The level one students were reading storybooks with plenty of pictures, similar to the ones Sans liked to read to Papyrus. Level two learners read books with a bit more pages, and with less pictures. The fourth level kids were reading thicker chapter books, and the fifth level students read chapter books with ‘challenging vocabulary’ inside.

   Once she was done reading, she would have to write her thoughts on the chapter. What she liked, what she didn’t like, what words she didn’t understand, what predictions would happen later on in the story- things of that nature.

   She could handle this.

~---~

   After English, Frisk was delightfully surprised when art became her next subject. Art wasn’t taken as seriously as the other core subjects. The teachers talked, and supplied the students with plenty of materials to draw with. Some students switched seats so that they could sit with their friends and talk. Frisk wanted to sit by herself but the other children had different ideas.

   Zeke and Allison sat with her after a few minutes into the period, keeping Frisk some company.

   “Hi. Your name is Frisk, right?” Zeke asked.

   “Yeah. That’s me.”

   “You probably already know our names, but I’m Zeke, and this is my twin sister Allison.” He introduced.

   “Cool.”

   “So, Frisk what are you drawing?” Allison pipped up. Frisk uncovered her paper so they could look at it more closely.

   “Um…just some flowers…” Frisk answered quietly. The twins’ eyes widened in amazement.

   “Wow…that’s pretty good so far. I wish I could draw that good.” Allison complemented. She held up her paper of what Frisk assumed to be of a sunset.

   “Yeah. They’re cool. I don’t really like flowers though. They make me sneeze.” Zeke commented.

   “Shut up Zeke. It’s not about if you like flowers or not. It’s just a drawing.” Allison teased. Zeke stuck his tongue out at his sister. Frisk giggled at their playfulness.

  Zeke and Allison weren’t the only ones to join Frisk. Damion, the tall kid with glasses, came over too.

   “Oh, hey Damion. What’s up?” Zeke asked.

   “Nothing much. Just wanted to sit with you guys.” He replied. He was drawing a lion on his paper.

   “You like lions?” Frisk asked, curious. Damion nodded his head.

   “I like lions ‘cuz their tough, and strong. Tigers too.” He added.

   “Well you can have our cat. Our cat is vicious just like a lion.” Zeke joked. Damion and Frisk laughed lightly as Allison rolled her eyes.

   “Hannah only hates you because you keep stepping on her tail.” She explained.

   “Who knows. Maybe I’ll beg dad to get us a dog.”

   “You know mom wouldn’t let us keep it…”

   “It’s worth a shot.”

   Frisk began to zone out as they continued their bickering. She noticed that a girl with long braided brunette hair was staring at her from across the room. No…she wasn’t just staring. She was glaring _daggers_ into Frisk’s soul. Frisk sharply turned her head back to the other kids, ignoring her completely.

   “-when you’re older you can get one.” Damion had finished saying. Whatever they were arguing about had stopped due to his comment.

   “Damion’s right.” Allison admitted.

   Not soon after, another girl visited their group. It was the girl with the bracelets and pins. She had jet black hair, and she was obviously an older kid. Frisk recognized that she was in the fifth level of learning.

   “Mind if I join you guys?” She asked.

   Everyone shook their heads, and the girl plopped herself into an empty desk. She brought over her stuff as well.

   “Frisk, right?” The girl said. Frisk nodded her head.

   “The name’s Eden. Pleased to meet you.” She responded, extending her hand out. Frisk took it and shook it firmly.

   “You’re drawing flowers? That’s neat. What type?” Eden added, trying to strike up conversation.

   “Buttercups.” Frisk answered.

   “Awesome. I’m not good at drawing scenery. I’m good a drawing cartoony stuff though.” She said showing off her paper. The art style reminded Frisk of the anime’s Alphys watched.

   “I like it.”

   “Thanks.”

   The kids sat in comfortable silence as they all doodled away at their creations. While she finished, Zeke, Allison and Damion talked with one another. Frisk started looking around the classroom until the girl with braided hair from before glared at her again. Eden took notice of this and decided to speak up.

   “You alright Nicole?” Eden shouted across the room. Frisk took note of her name, as Nicole snapped out of her death glaring and spun her head towards Eden.

   “Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” She grumbled.

   “You sure?”

   “Yeah. Positive.”

   “Okay. Let me know if something’s up.” Eden concluded.

   “Ok.”

   Eden slowly turned back towards Frisk, speaking to her in a much gentler voice.

   “Sorry about that. Nicole just has some…issues with certain people.” Eden consoled.

   “What’s her problem? I didn’t do anything to her. Why is she glaring at me?” Frisk questioned.

   “I’m not sure…Just try to ignore her. If she gives you problems just be sure to tell me or the teachers. I’m the oldest here, so I’m kinda in charge in keeping you guys in order.” She informed.

   Frisk smiled.

   “Okay. Thanks.”

   And with that, Art class was over, and the children went back to their assigned seats for the next lesson.

~---~

   The next subject was like a hard smack to the face for Frisk. Art class and English were her two favorite classes so far because of how easy they were, and how much it interested her.

   Math was a different story.

   Math was everything that English and art were not. English had more freedom when it came to questions. You were allowed not to know stuff. You were allowed to be wrong. You were allowed to have multiple answers. Math was the complete opposite. In math, wrong answers were frowned upon. You weren’t allowed to have multiple answers. Math required having one specific answer, with specific steps, and specific knowledge.

   Today, Frisk was learning multiplication and division with large numbers. She was struggling, and she needed some extra help from the teachers.

   “Tor-“ She began to call out. Toriel’s head shot up as she violently shook her head no.

   No? Why is she saying no?

   Toriel glanced at another student who was raising their hand straight into the air. Frisk tilted her head in confusion until Mrs. Park came over to the child and answered their call.

   Frisk hesitantly put her hand in the air, and Toriel nodded in approval.

   “Yes, Frisk?” She asked.

   “Tori-“

   Toriel started shaking her head no again as the other children began to stare.

   What? What was she doing wrong now?

   She watched as a student called out to another teacher.

   “Mrs. Dodd! I did it!”

   Frisk realized that Toriel was just like the other teachers in the room. She may be Frisk’s adopted mother, but here at school she must refer to her in a respectful and professional manor.

   “Ms.…Toriel…” She reluctantly spoke. Toriel smiled happily, signaling Frisk to continue. “Can you help me? I don’t think I understand it…”

   “Of course.” Toriel stated, making her way towards Frisk. She leaned over, examining her paper. She was still on the first question, and there were a pile of eraser shavings and pencil marks littering the paper.

   “Let’s take it from the top…”

~---~

   Frisk wished she could say that Toriel’s walkthrough made her problems easier. Although, her explanation did clear up some confusion, Frisk just wasn’t getting it. She managed to answer half of her paper, but she wasn’t even sure if the answers she managed to get were even correct. She sighed deeply. It wasn’t Toriel’s fault. She just couldn’t get it.

   At this point, it was lunch time, so all the kids eagerly lined up at the door waiting for the teachers to give the okay. Mrs. Dodd went to the front of the line and opened the door, while Mrs. Park went to the back of the line with Toriel. Mrs. Dodd led the children down the halls and into the cafeteria that was a few halls down.

   The cafeteria was _loud_.

   There were at least ten other classes already there, eating their lunches and talking with friends. Some were shouting at each other from across the room while others silently ate their lunch in peace. The students in line quickly dispersed leaving Frisk behind in total confusion.

   Where was she supposed to go? Was she supposed to sit down, or could she go in line to get lunch now?

   Toriel sensed her confusion and called out to Eden.

   “Eden? Can you come here?”

   Eden stopped in her tracks and directed her attention towards the both of them.

   “Can you help Frisk get lunch?”

   “Sure thing Ms. Toriel.”

   Eden made a beckoning motion with her hand, signaling Frisk to follow her. With Eden’s help, she got some chicken nuggets, some apple slices, and some chocolate milk. She carried the tray over to a table, and soon Damion, Zeke and Allison joined her.

~---~

  Once lunch was over, the students returned to their classrooms. There was only one subject left and that was history. Luckily for Frisk, history wasn’t as difficult as math was, and the subject interested her. There was a lot of things that she didn’t know about surface world history. She was almost embarrassed by the fact that the youngest kid in the class knew more about the presidents than she did.

   Right now, she was learning about the three main branches of government. It wasn’t that exciting, but it sure was important to know. Especially as the current ambassador of monsters. She needed to know as much as she could in hopes of returning and helping Asgore with the heavy burden of long meetings and paperwork.

   Frisk made sure to pay close to attention this time.

~---~

   The final bell rang, and class was dismissed. The children went to the back closet to gather their coats, and they rushed outside to go home. Frisk stayed behind and patiently waited until all the students had left, leaving just the three teachers in the room with her.

   “So what did you think of your first day of school?” Mrs. Dodd asked.

   “It’s…a lot to take it in.” Frisk admitted. “But I liked it.”

   The teachers smiled and Toriel sat down at her desk.

   “Alright Frisk. I highly doubt you want to stay here until four o’clock so why don’t you go outside and call Sans. He’ll pick you up.” She offered.

   “Okay.”

   With that, Frisk packed her stuff, put on her coat, and swung her bookbag over her shoulder.

   “Bye Mrs. Dodd! Bye Mrs. Park!” She called from the doorway.

   “Bye, Frisk. See you tomorrow!”

   When Frisk stepped out of the building, children were running around and playing on the playground. Parents were picking up children left and right, and some even sat down at the benches and monitored their kids on the playground. She noticed a few of her classmates with their moms and dads. She spotted Zeke and Allison’s mother from the far end of the corner. The woman met eyes with Frisk, and her smile quickly morphed into a frown. Allison and Zeke were talking to her but it didn’t look like she was listening anymore. Their mother looked down at them. She said something, and Zeke and Allison looked in Frisk’s direction. They both cheerfully waved hi, and turned back to face their mom. The woman began speaking very fast and she swiftly pulled the two of them away. The twins had a look of confusion, and from what Frisk could tell, their mother was not happy.

   Frisk didn’t want to instigate things any further so she quickly dialed Sans’ number. He picked up on the second ring.

   “Hello?”

   “Hey Sans.” Frisk greeted.

   “Oh hey Frisk. School’s out?”

   “Yep.”

   “Okay. Be there in a sec.”

   Sans wasn’t lying either. Just shortly after Frisk hung up, Sans had popped out of some bushes with a happy grin on his face.

   “Took you long enough.” Frisk teased.

   “Oh ha-ha.” Sans said flatly. “C’mon. It’s getting cold.” He added while extending his hand. Frisk gratefully took it, and the two of them were teleported inside the house. Frisk lost her balance from the vertigo and almost fell over, but due to Sans’ grip on her, she found her footing.

   “Still not used to that.” She commented. Sans chuckled lightly. Frisk unzipped her coat and hung it up while also setting her bookbag by the door. Sans sat down on the couch, patting the space next to him, signaling Frisk to come sit with him.  She accepted and got comfortable.

   “So, how was school?”

   Frisk smiled brightly at him ready to blow up with information.

   “It was awesome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! YAY! Thank you all SO MUCH for waiting. This is my longest chapter yet. It's thirteen pages long (according to Microsoft Word) so if you managed to get this far, congratulations! I know not much happened in this chapter, but I just kinda wanted to introduce some of the new characters for now.   
> Anyways, I realized that it's been over a year since I first started this fanfic. (Can you believe that?!) I wanted to post it on the one year anniversary buuuuut life happened. Instead I decided to post this chapter the day before my birthday because I wanted to feel accomplished in some way or another. XD  
> Also, one quick little thing I wanted to clarify was that even though Frisk is a level three student, that doesn't exactly mean she's in third grade. (In the future you'll see a kid who's 10 years old and is placed in the 2nd level of learning.)  
> But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this really long chapter. I appreciate every single one of you who are reading this. Seriously, you guys are awesome.  
> Stay cool!  
> ~CB


	29. Walking On Eggshells

   A week had passed since Frisk enrolled into the school, and word was spreading like wildfire. Frisk got to meet the other kids in her class with her while Damion, and the twins, Zeke and Allison, had become her closest friends yet. Eden had also been a huge help, but she was more occupied with the smaller kids.

   “No can do Frisk. Gotta make sure the little tykes don’t eat the glue or something.” She said one day during art class.

  She laughed to herself at the memory and returned to her work.

~---~

   Unfortunately, math class hadn’t gotten any easier for Frisk over time. It was confusing, and she struggled with her homework longer than the other kids claimed to be.

   “Woooah kiddo. What’s going on? It looks like you’re gonna snap your pencil in two.” Sans noted as he casually passed by the kitchen table.

   “Ugh…Nothing, just some stupid math homework.” Frisk grumbled in reply.

   “Math huh? What’s grinding your gears?” Sans persisted as he pulled out a chair and sat beside her.

   “Everything.” Frisk huffed. Sans chuckled lightly.

   “Gonna have to be more specific than that.”

   “I’m really confused on this two-step equation stuff.” She clarified.

   “Ooooh. Two-step equations? That’s easy.” Sans brushed off.

   “Easy? This thing is like decoding ancient hieroglyphics.” Frisk argued.

   “Aww, come on. It ain’t so bad once you break it down. Here, let’s start from the beginning…”

   To Frisk’s surprise after an hour, Frisk could answer most of the problems by herself. Even though a lot of her answers were wrong, (usually by one simple mistake she forgot to do,) she had a lot more confidence than what she started with.

   “Since when were you so good at math Sans?” Frisk asked curiously.

   “Since the beginning of time.”

   Frisk giggled and put her homework away.

   “Well…Thank you anyways. For once I have some time to relax and watch a little bit of TV with you.”

~---~

   One morning during art class, Frisk noticed that Zeke and Allison were awfully quiet. She tried making general conversation with them, but they only replied with one-word answers. What was wrong? Did something happen at home? They looked nervous. They kept glancing away from Frisk when she spoke and they silently continued their work.

   After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Frisk got the hint and decided to move away towards Damion.

   “Hey Damion.” She greeted.

   “Hey Frisk.” He replied back. At least he was in a talking mood.

   “Do you know what’s going on with Zeke and Allison? I feel like something’s wrong.”

   “Wrong...? I don’t know. I was just talking to them before class started. They seemed alright to me.” He honestly said.

   “Did I say something wrong? I don’t think I did. I hope I didn’t.” Frisk worried. She slowly got up and sat next to them again.

   “Hey guys.” She hesitantly called out. They looked up at her then lowered their heads.

   “Why aren’t you guys talking to me? Did something happen? Did I do something to make you mad at me?” Frisk addressed. The twins shook their heads.

   “Then what is it?”

   “We aren’t allowed to talk to you anymore.” Zeke simply said. He shifted closer to his sister Allison, who was drawing a shooting star.

   “Huh?” Frisk said in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

   “Just go away Frisk. I’m sorry, but we can’t talk to you anymore. We’ll get in trouble if we do. Just go play with Damion or Eden.” Allison insisted, shutting her out. Frisk was shocked. They’d get in trouble? By who? And why?

   Frisk reluctantly gave up and moved back over to Damion.

   “Any luck?” He asked, hopeful. Frisk shook her head no. “They’ll come back around. You’ll see.”

~---~

   Zeke and Allison weren’t the only ones giving Frisk a hard time. Nicole, the girl who constantly kept glaring at Frisk, began making snide comments at her.

   “Wrong answer again. I guess Math isn’t your strong suit.” She remarked one day.

   “Nicole.” Toriel called out sternly.

   “Sorry.” She muttered, lacking empathy. Frisk ignored it and dismissed it as early morning grumpiness.

   That was until it happened more frequently.

   “Raise your hand, dim wit. In case you haven’t known, in school you have to raise your hand.” She growled, while waving her hand in the air.

   “Nicole, I will not tolerate, any sort of mockery or verbal bullying in the classroom.” Mrs. Park called out. Nicole rolled her eyes afterwards, and ended up having to stay after class for her behavior.

   When Nicole realized that teasing would only get her into more trouble, she resorted to something else.

   Questions.

   Most of them were based on things that made Frisk uncomfortable. Nicole quickly learned them and used it to her advantage.

   “So, Frisk… Are your parents nice?” She asked mischievously. Frisk uncomfortably adjusted her seat before answering the question.

   “Y-yeah. I guess. I mean technically they aren’t my real parents, but they’re nice.” She explained cautiously. Frisk didn’t want to reveal that Toriel was her guardian, just in case she thought there was any favoritism going on.

   “Yeah? Where are your real parents?” She persisted.

   “Uh…It…doesn’t really matter.”

   “Are you adopted or something?” She continued.

   “S-Sort of. It’s complicated.” Frisk replied quietly. She wanted to move away from the personal questions, but Nicole kept them coming.

   “What’s your last name?”

   Frisk was quiet. She _really_ did not like where the conversation was going. Toriel told her that if anyone ever asked, to use Asgore’s last name. He was one of the few monsters that had a proper last name to begin with. In monster culture, surnames were based on their species, powers, traits, or in some circumstances, weren’t given at all.

   “…Dreemurr.”

   “What was that?”

   Frisk was grinding her teeth. Nicole was really pushing it.

   “Dreemurr.” She repeated with more irritation.

   “Dreemurr!” Nicole squealed, a bit too loud than Frisk would have liked. “Now that’s interesting…Because, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t that the monster king’s last name?”

   Frisk had no response. Nicole had backed her into a corner. It was all a trick. Nicole must have known more than she let on. Frisk began to nervously glance around the room. She needed something to get her out of this situation. If she told Nicole that she was the ambassador of monsters, or was adopted by them, she was sure that controversy would arise. She didn’t want to start any trouble, but tensions were already high between the humans and monsters.

   Frisk began scratching her arms, running her hand over scars that were hiding beneath her sleeves.

   “Hey, quit the third degree, Nicole.” Eden cut in. She pulled out a chair and sat next to Frisk protectively.

   “Hey, I’m just asking-“

  “No. No more questions. You’re making her uncomfortable.” She shut down. Nicole opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. Instead she huffed out an exasperated sigh and moved her seat away from Frisk.

   Eden smiled kindly at Frisk.

   “I hate bullies.”

   Frisk’s eyes widened in new-found respect and appreciation.

   “Thanks Eden…”

~---~

   Although, Eden helped keep Nicole away from Frisk, that didn’t stop her from trying. One day during class, things had escalated into a heated conversation between Nicole, Frisk and Eden.

   “Why don’t you ever answer my questions Frisk?” Nicole demanded.

   “She doesn’t need to.” Eden firmly stated.

   “I want _her_ to tell me that.” Nicole insisted, while glaring at Frisk’s direction. Frisk shrank in her seat, feeling trapped again.

   “They’re just really personal is all.” She said in a tiny voice.

   “Oh, is that it? Or are you secretly hiding something? Because if my memory is correct, you said your last name is Dreemurr, which is Asgore’s last name too. How are you associated with him?”

   “It doesn’t matter, now please stop asking.” Frisk pleaded, as she did her nervous tick of touching her arm.

   “You’re getting nervous, I can tell. You always do that thing with your arm. Why do you do that?” She added.

   “I-I-I don’t know, just-“

   “Hey, leave her alone Nicole. Let her do what she wants. Why are you so nosy? She hasn’t done anything to you!” Eden growled, gaining the attention of the three teachers in the room.

   “Hah! If only you knew! Frisk, sweet innocent Frisk, has a deep dark secret that she’s keeping from you. All of you!” Nicole laughed, voice dripping with tar. The other children were watching the conversation carefully.

   “What are you talking about?” Eden snapped.

   “Do you know who Frisk Dreemurr is? Do you know why Mrs. Toriel adores her?”

   Frisk’s heart stopped. Her eyes grew wide in panic as Toriel’s head shot up, overhearing the conversation.

   “It’s because she’s the ambassador of monsters. She _lives_ with them.”

   Eden went alarmingly silent. The tension in the classroom grew tenfold. The new knowledge weighed on their shoulders like a hundred pounds.

   Toriel, and the other teachers weren’t sure what to do. The damage was already done. The kids now knew everything.

   “…Is this true?” Eden questioned, in a quiet voice.

   Frisk hesitantly nodded.

  “It’s true.”

   Eden didn’t speak afterwards. She didn’t move either, but Frisk was sure that if she could, she would.

   “Not innocent, now are you? You’re not fooling anyone anymore. And don’t start that pity party of yours either. I know you want people to feel bad for you, but it won’t work. Use your non-existent brain for that one.” Nicole remarked.

   “Nicole!” Mrs. Dodd shouted, getting her attention. “Go to the principal’s office, immediately.”

   Nicole’s jaw dropped, but before she could protest, Mrs. Dodd was already on the phone, letting the office know who was coming down. She angrily swung her bookbag over her shoulder, gathered her belongings and stormed out the classroom.

   It was uncomfortably silent afterwards.

~---~

   When Sans took Frisk home that day, he noticed something was wrong.

   “Everything okay at school?” He asked, as she threw herself onto the couch. She turned on the TV to fill the deafening silence.

   “No.” She mumbled. Sans sat with her.

   “What happened? Are the twins still ignoring you?” He wondered.

   “Yes, but they weren’t the problem. It was just Nicole this time.” Frisk said, defeated.

   “Uh oh. Is she still giving you trouble?”

   Frisk sneezed, earning a ‘bless you’ from Sans before answering.

   “More than that. She knew. She knew all along who I was, and what was going on. I fell right into her trap.”

   “…What are you talking about?” Sans said, totally out of the loop.

   “She told everyone that I am the ambassador of monsters.”

   Sans’ eye lights noticeably became smaller. He knew just as well that this was bad news.

   “What a jerk.” He muttered under his breath. “How’d everyone else take it?” He worried.

   “Nobody said a thing. I think they were a little shocked. They think that Toriel is playing favorites with me because she’s my ‘mom’.” Frisk explained.

   “Well… _Is_ she playing favorites?”

   “No.”

   Sans sighed. He knew they couldn’t keep it a secret from the kids for long. He was just hoping that the news would have come from Frisk’s mouth, rather than some snotty little girl.

   “Look kiddo, I know you’re freaking out in the inside, but I think everything will be okay. Maybe we’re overanalyzing this. Maybe this whole thing will pass over like a storm or something. What that Nicole girl did was wrong, but ya know, she’s gonna get what’s coming to her. I don’t want you to worry about stuff like this okay? If the other kids think that Toriel is favoring you over them, then they can just keep that to themselves. You know deep down in your heart, that Toriel wouldn’t be unfair like that. You just keep doing what you’re doing, and I’m sure everything will work out.”

   Frisk smiled slightly.

   “Maybe you’re right.”

   Leave it to Sans to lift her spirits.

~---~

   The next day was just as awkward as Frisk expected. Nicole was entirely silent the entire day, and the atmosphere was overall uncomfortable. Most of the older kids were more reserved, and whispered among themselves, occasionally stealing glances at Frisk. The younger children were more oblivious, and had acted relatively normal. As a result, Frisk became more isolated, and she started to seclude herself from classroom discussions and other sorts of participation.

   While Frisk was sitting by herself, she felt someone scoot over to the next seat beside her.

   “You look lonely.”

   Frisk’s head shot up from her paper and spun to see Eden sitting there.

   “Eden?” She gasped. Eden smiled sheepishly.

   “Yep. That’s me.”

   “I’m…I’m glad to see you.” Frisk admitted.

   “Me too.” Eden agreed light-heartedly.

   Frisk gave a small sneeze, getting a ‘bless you’ in return from Eden.

   “I thought you were going to hate me.” Frisk stated, still recovering from the sneeze. Eden shook her head while shoving her bookbag underneath the desk.

   “I could never hate you Frisk. I’m sorry if I worried you. It was just a bit of a shock that you were the ambassador of monsters.” Eden explained.

   “I know. I didn’t say anything because I thought you’d think Toriel would like me more than the other students. Which I hope you know isn’t true by the way.” Frisk confessed.

   “I know. That’s why I’m still here.” Eden cheerfully said. Frisk shot her an appreciative smile before returning to her drawing.

~---~

   The final bell had rung, and Frisk was ready to go. Despite having Eden back on her side, class was still quiet, almost to an unbearable level. As usual, she was the last student to exit the classroom, giving a wave goodbye to all three teachers before putting her coat on and braving the cold. When she pushed open the doors leading outside, she was greeted with horror.

   Parents. Adults. Older people. All packed together in a large crowd, at the sides of the door. All of them were screaming harsh words, of hate and violence. Some were holding up signs, others were pumping raised fists in the air. Frisk was frozen with terror.

   These people were protesting.

   “There she is!”

   “Get her outta here!”

   “I don’t want my kid to be with a monster supporter!”

   “Fire the goat teacher too!”

   “Cheaters! They’re abusing the system!”

   “The ambassador of monsters goes to the same school as a monster teacher?! This is outrageous!”

   Frisk was overwhelmed by the amount of hate being spewed from these people’s mouths. She knew that Frisk was hated among the anti-monster community, but she never fully experienced it firsthand.

   Until now.

   They were booing and hissing, and holding up picket signs.

    **STOP POLLUTING OUR YOUTH**

**MONSTER-KIND HAS GOT TO GO**

**STOP WAISTING OUR TAX DOLLARS**

Frisk was frightened, eyes wide in terror. Security guards were swarming in from every corner. Frisk made eye contact with the security guard she met from the first day of school. His blonde hair and black glasses stuck with her since she first saw him.

    _My name is Ethan, and if anyone gives you trouble, or if you need anything at all, just let me know._

Recalling what Ethan had said on her second day, she called out to him.

   “ETHAN!”

   Ethan’s head snapped, as he spotted Frisk standing in between the pathway of protesters. He ran to her side, standing protectively in front of her, as the angry protesters shouted.

   “Get out the way!”

   “Stop protecting her!”

   Ethan turned to Frisk, his expression more serious than she had ever seen him.

   “You got someone to pick you up?” He asked. Frisk snapped out of her daze and nodded her head. She swiftly pulled out her cell phone, but before she could press ‘dial’ something hard, cold and slimy struck her cheek.

   She touched it, her fingers coated in a slippery yellow film, with a white oval shell shattering on the ground.

   An egg.

   Before Frisk could process what was happening, another egg collided with the back of her head. She felt it break open as the ice-cold yolk slid down her hair and onto her clothing. She whimpered, as Ethan got struck with his third egg. He took the brunt of the force with no questions asked as he outstretched his arms in front of Frisk to shield her from the wave of oncoming eggs.

   “Frisk! Ergh!” Ethan shouted over the crowd as his shoulder took another hit. “Call the person!”

   Frisk broke out of her paralyzed state of fear and pressed the call button. As usual, Sans answered on the second ring.

  “Hello-“

   “Sans!” Frisk hollered, voice shrill in panic. A paper napkin made contact with her face.

   “Frisk? What the hell is-“

   “Please hurry! There are protesters! They’re-“ A plastic cup full of ice coffee splashed over the two of them, soaking them both. Frisk gasped in shock, cutting off her train of thought. From across the playground she could see a few police officers heading their direction.

   “Ah! Sans, just hurry!” Frisk said, voice wavering. Tears were making its way to the corner of her eyes.

   “Be right there.” was all Sans said, before he suddenly blinked into reality, landing right beside Frisk. The crowd of protesters were visibly shaken up by Sans’ sudden appearance, so much to the point where they all stopped throwing things.

   Sans’ eye lights immediately faded out upon looking at Frisk. Cracked open egg shells on the ground, with the bright yellow yolks in her hair and clothes. She was dripping wet with coffee, as the plastic cup laid across her feet, with chunks of ice scattered around the floor. The security guard in front of her was protecting her with his arms sprawled out. He had even more egg yolks on him, and his entire shirt was ruined from the drink.

   **“What. The. Fuck.”**

   Frisk shivered at Sans’ tone. He was incredibly, _pissed._

   **“You.”**

Sans pointed to Ethan.

   **“What happened here?”**

Sans was grinding on his teeth, straining to get the words out of his mouth. His hand was balled up in a tight fist.

   “These protesters happened. That’s what.” Ethan replied bitterly.

   Sans turned his head, unnaturally slow and robotically towards the protesters. Frisk watched, warily from behind.

   **“I’m gonna…”** Sans trailed off. He was growling, his voice an octave lower than what Frisk was used to.

   **“ _I’m gonna…”_** He repeated with more anger. His fist was tightening. Frisk began taking notice to the electricity buzzing in the air. Blue smoke was fuming from his eye socket.

   Frisk suddenly hugged Sans tightly from behind, trying to get through to him. She had to stop whatever fit of rage he was about to unleash.

   “Sans.” Frisk squeaked out. Sans peered down at her, eye lights present, but still far too small for her liking.

   “Let’s just go home. Please…I’m scared…I’m cold…I feel horrible…I just want to go home.” She said, tears building in her eyes, while whimpering pathetically.

   Sans’ fist slowly uncurled, and his magic stopped buzzing. He sighed, a long heavy sigh, and peered at the protesters. Police officers were now breaking up the crowd and pulling people away with handcuffs. Sans found a strange sense of relief from the sight and glanced at Ethan.

   “Hey man. Don’t worry about me alright? Get her home, and just take care of her. I got this.” He said while cleaning his glasses.

   “You sure?”

   “Positive. Go on. Get out of here. Going to have a nice chat with these cops.” He said lightly.

   “…Alright then.”

   And with a flick of his fingers, the two of them were teleported home.

  

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOH SHET, SANS IS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! In all honesty who would blame the guy?   
> Also, did you get the title? It has two meanings. Cuz there's the idiom, 'walking on eggshells,' and the fact that Frisk got pelted in the face with actual eggs. Get it?! Haha! HAHAHA! (I'm a terrible person, and I will leave now.)  
> Also would like to point out the random sneezes Frisk is doing. You know. Just pointing that out. :)  
> Anyways, thank you all so much for the love and support you guys are showing me. I hope you all have a good rest of the day. (Or night depending on what time you're reading this!)  
> Stay cool!  
> ~CB


	30. Deceit

   When both Frisk and Sans touched ground, Sans took Frisk’s hand and angrily stormed off into the bathroom. Frisk sat at the edge of the bathtub shivering, in her drenched shirt and ruined hair as Sans searched inside the storage closet for a towel. He picked up a folded lime green towel and threw it on the sink counter while continuing his search through the cabinets.

   “Get your pajamas Frisk so you can take a shower.” Sans ordered. Frisk nodded, even though he couldn’t see it with his back turned. She went to her room and gathered her clothes as she brought them back into the bathroom, laying them next to the towel. Sans finally turned back around with two bottles of shampoo and conditioner. He set them to the side, and huffed. Frisk could tell that he was still incredibly angry, so she didn’t say anything.

   “I’ll be on the couch waiting for you okay? A shower should get all that crap cleaned off, and it’ll give me enough time to calm down.” He walked away, closing the door behind him, giving Frisk her privacy.

  Frisk whimpered to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair coated in slime from the egg yolks, with coffee stains on her shirt.

   _“And this is one of the reasons why I hate humanity. Go take your stupid shower before you start crying like a pathetic worm.”_ Chara interrupted into her thoughts.

   Frisk didn’t say anything at the new voice. She was right. Crying wouldn’t solve anything, so she sucked up the tears forming in her eyes and turned around and started up the hot water.

~---~

   Sans perked up when he heard the running water from the faucet turn off. A few moments after, Frisk stepped out and made her way downstairs with her hair washed, and in clean pajamas. She looked a lot better too.

   Sans gave a hard pat on the sofa, an empty space right in front of him. Frisk sat down, watching the TV at a low volume.

   “…Why?” Frisk whispered. “Why did they do that?”

   Sans sighed.

   “I don’t know kiddo…I really don’t know.”

   Frisk felt Sans run a brush through her hair, soothingly running through the strands.

   “Maybe if I hadn’t tried to hide that I was the ambassador of monsters, the other kids wouldn’t have told their parents. Maybe this all could’ve been preventable…What if Toriel gets fired because of the protesters? What happens if they don’t go away and they have to let her go? What if-“

   “Frisk, come on. Take a deep breath. Your overwhelming yourself.” Sans cut off, placing a firm reassuring hand on her shoulder. Frisk nodded, and followed his advice.

   “Sorry.”

   “You don’t gotta apologize.” Sans replied. “Listen kid, I highly doubt that Toriel will get fired cuz of the protesters. They didn’t do it before, and they won’t do it now.”

   “ _Before?_ This has happened before?” Frisk questioned, turning her head towards Sans.

   “Yeah..? Didn’t Tori tell you?”

   “No! She didn’t!” Frisk responded with outrage. Sans facepalmed, and groaned.

   “Toriiii…” He muttered.

   “Wish I would’ve known that before I made my choice.” Frisk added slightly annoyed.

   “I would’ve told you too, but I thought you already knew.” Sans honestly remarked.

   Frisk slowly turned back around and continued watching TV.

   “I’m gonna have to talk to her about that.” Frisk mumbled glancing at the clock. She would be home in a two more hours. Sans continued his brushing, occasionally picking out eggshell pieces from her hair.

   “What I don’t get is how _adults,_ can do this to a kid.” He growled. Frisk sneezed, earning a bless you from Sans.

   “On the surface, politics mean a lot to some humans. It makes some people angry that I’m the ambassador. Me and Asgore had to deal with a lot of angry people when we had meetings. I just don’t get it though…”

   “Me either.” Sans agreed.

   “I think Nicole started this all.” Frisk deducted. “When she found out I was the ambassador, she told the other kids remember? And those kids probably told their parents…and then this happened.”

   “…I wouldn’t rule it out.” Sans said sadly. He put the brush down and picked out another eggshell.

   “So what now Frisk? You re-thinking your choice?” Sans worried.

   “Sort of…I’m not sure. I like learning in school. But I don’t like being pelted with garbage either.” She admitted, conflicted. Sans brought her into a hug, doing his best to comfort her.

   “We could always pull you out and do cyber school.” He suggested.

   “I think I would be really bored if we did that.” Frisk admitted.

   “I thought it was an _EGG-cellent_  idea.” Sans joked while referring to the eggshell pieces.

   “Sans!”

   “It was worth taking a _crack_ at it.”

   “Oh my god,” Frisk groaned, not helping but to giggle a little bit.

   “I’m using all my best _yolks_ here.”

   “Are you done?”

   “Aw, c’mon Frisk. You gotta stay _sunny side up_ in these types of situations.” Sans consoled, holding back his own laughter.

   “How many egg jokes do you know?!” Frisk questioned.

   “I can tell your brain is _scrambling_ for more.”

   Frisk facepalmed.

   “ _Omletting_ that slide.” Frisk retaliated.

   “Nice! That one got me _shell shocked._ ” Sans responded, growing more excited by the second.

   “Alright, my brain’s _fried.”_ Frisk confessed while laying her head against Sans. Sans chuckled lightly.

   “That’s what happens when you _egg_ me on.”

   “I’m totally telling Papyrus about this.”

~---~

   Papyrus came home before Toriel, greeting the two of them before he went upstairs. He came back down and sat with them on the couch.

   Frisk sneezed, receiving a bless you from Papyrus.

   “Human, I have noticed that you are sneezing a lot lately. Are you sick?” Papyrus asked.

   “No, I don’t think so. I feel alright.” Frisk answered.

   “Hmm. Well, alright then. Do let me know if you want me to make some special healing soup made by yours truly!” Papyrus bragged.

   Frisk giggled, and then there was a shifting sound made behind the front door. As always, it was Toriel, who had arrived home from teaching. Her eyes darted towards Frisk with a facial expression she only saw rarely- guilt.

   “Greetings Lady Toriel!” Papyrus chimed. Sans glanced at Frisk, sending her a silent message she would only understand.

   “Hello Papyrus.” Toriel politely replied, her voice softer than usual. Frisk could sense the urgency in her voice.

   Sans abruptly stood up from his spot, pulling Papyrus on his feet as well.

   “Wha- brother! What are you-“

   “Hey! I just remembered I had to show you something! In my room. Right now.” Sans hastily cut off.

   “Really? Can’t this wa-“

   “Nope! Come on!” Sans interrupted again, pulling Papyrus away and up the stairs.

   _Smooth, Sans. Real smooth._

Toriel lingered by the doorway until she finally decided to sit.

   “I…heard about what happened.” She started, her hands neatly folded in her lap. Frisk only nodded to show she was listening.

   “My child, I am so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I would not have allowed it if I knew.” She apologized sincerely.

   “But you did know.” Frisk said coldly. Toriel was lying straight to her face, and without any hesitation. Was this normal for her? Lying and deceiving Frisk all the time?

   “You knew all this time. You knew that me going to school would cause issues in the anti-monster community. How could you lie to me Toriel? I thought we were supposed to be honest with each other.” Frisk added feeling hurt. Toriel’s eyes became softer, as her expression became more sorrowful.

   “I didn’t want to scare you my child. I thought that they wouldn’t come back after I had settled in the school.” She replied earnestly.

   “Don’t you think I should’ve known that before I made my choice of going back to school?” Frisk questioned, not trying to sound harsh.

   “I didn’t want to intimidate you. I was happy to hear that you wanted to go back to school, but if I told you I thought you would change your mind. I know that was really selfish of me Frisk, I want to apologize for that. But I also wanted you to give this a fair chance.”

   “I _was_ giving this a fair chance. I _am_ trying to make this work, but after today I’m not so confident I want to put up with this.” Frisk argued.

   “I understand, I truly do. I had at least ten kids get pulled out of my class when I first started teaching. Then they started protesting in the playground, and it was horrible. It went away with time, but I just didn’t think they would start protesting over…over such a small thing.”

   “Me either, which is why I kept quiet about it. It’s not like I was announcing I was ambassador of monsters, but I didn’t mean to keep it some big secret. I just…”

   Frisk’s eyes were watering now.

   “I just wanted to fit in. I just wanted to be a regular kid…All I wanted was to make some human friends.” She sniffled, finally breaking down. Toriel hugged her in sympathy, shushing her and stroking her hair to calm her down.

   “They threw eggs at me…Someone threw iced coffee…” Frisk told.

   “…It’s alright…I’ve got you now…I’m sorry my child…I’m so sorry…” Toriel repeated, murmuring. “It’s my fault this happened…my selfishness got you hurt….I am so sorry Frisk…”

   The two stayed like that for a while, until Frisk finally pulled herself together. She pulled away and wiped her tears with her hands. Toriel saw this, and used her own paw to help dry them.

   “If you are angry with me I understand. If you don’t want to go back to school tomorrow, I won’t make you.” Toriel clarified.

   “No…I…I want to go back. I can’t give up now just because of some dumb protesters. I’ll give it another try. We’ll see what happens afterwards I guess.” Frisk answered.

   Toriel hugged her one final time, kissing her on the head. “You are too good for me.”

~---~

   That night, Toriel had baked an apple pie for Frisk, and tucked her into bed. Sans popped his head in when Toriel was done and he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and gave him one in return.

   The next day, Frisk woke up with a strange feeling in her chest. She cleared her throat and felt it rattle inside her. She gave a small cough, which turned into a coughing fit that did not sound good.

 _Great,_ she thought to herself. She shook it off and got dressed to get ready for school.

   As usual, Toriel had made breakfast for her, and the two drove down at usual time. As always, it was quiet, and not a single protester was in sight. With a sigh of relief, they both went inside through the office. At his station, to Frisk’s surprise, was Ethan, the security guard from before.

   “Hey! Welcome back Frisk!” Ethan greeted cheerfully.

   “Ethan!” Frisk beamed. “Thank you so much for yesterday.”

   “Yes, thank you Ethan for protecting my child. Your greatness is appreciated.” Toriel agreed. Ethan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

   “Heh…yeah, I was just doing my job. Plus, I wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Frisk.” He admitted.

   The day carried on rather smoothly. The tension in the classroom was still present, especially after what happened yesterday. Frisk noticed that Nicole was gone, nowhere to be seen. She figured her parents must have pulled her out, much to Frisk’s liking.

   _Well, that’s one less problem to worry about._

   During art class Eden had sat with her, and Frisk finally exploded with information.

   “No way! They threw _eggs_ at you?” She said in a hushed voice. Frisk nodded in confirmation, laughing at Eden’s reaction.

   “What is wrong with people?!” She said baffled. Frisk shrugged.

   “Looking back at it now, it seems kinda silly. Why do people throw eggs? Eggs? Of all things…” Frisk stated, trailing off. She felt someone pull a chair next to her, to which she turned her head.

   “Zeke? Allison?” Frisk sputtered.

   “Mind if we sit with you?” Zeke asked. Frisk nodded, with no hesitation. They brought over their belongings and quietly settled at their desks.

   “Frisk…We’re sorry. I know this week has been hard on you, and we cut you off randomly halfway.” Allison admitted.

   “Our mom saw that you were the ambassador of monsters on the playground, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t want us to hang out with you.” Zeke explained.

   “So that’s what happened! I was wondering you know.” Frisk realized.

   “Yeah…we’re sorry. But I don’t care anymore. We like you Frisk. Even if my mom doesn’t…who cares? Ambassador or not, you’re a cool person.” Allison declared. Frisk smiled brightly at her praise.

   “Thanks guys.”

   “So, tell us more about these protesters. What happened after?” Eden asked curiously.

   “I’ll bet Frisk fought them back. Like a warrior.” Zeke included.

   “I heard Ethan was there to jump in.” Allison informed.

   “Psh. Ethan didn’t need to be there. Frisk could’ve taken them all.”

   “One of them threw their coffee.”

   “And I bet Frisk caught that coffee in the air and started to drink it!”

   In the middle of their conversation, Frisk looked up to see Toriel smiling at her from across the room. She smiled brightly in response, and returned to her doodling.

   Everything was going to be okay.

  

  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* CB? How can you leave us on a cliffhanger for an entire month?? I know, I know, I'm evil. I honestly didn't think I would be gone for so long without any updates. I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing (it is a bit shorter than some of my other chapters.). So let's see here...Toriel messed up, Frisk messed up, Nicole messed up, and the twins messed up. But now it's okay, and things will be alright now....Right? (Jeez, I should've just named this chapter "Everyone Apologizes.")  
> Anyways, as of right now, my life has been quite a shit-show recently. Not sure if I already mentioned this in another End Note but I'll just recap. Right now, I switched to a new school, and I'm moving in with my stepdad soon, so it's been kind of tough. Unfortunately/Luckily, my school found out that I don't live with him YET, (And it'll only be three more weeks until I DO move in,) and they are not happy. So now I have to dis-enroll and go back to my old school for like, three weeks, and then COME BACK TO ENROLL AGAIN. (It's really frustrating to say the least.)  
> As of my health, it's not looking too good. (Heheh me and Frisk both got something in common. Jk, I'll stop.)  
> I'm just gonna spit it out, and say that I have JRA. (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.) It's actually getting worse, (but that could just be because of the stress from school and home life, or maybe because it's getting cold again.) and I have to take these dumb pills that take a while to work. If these pills don't work then I'm gonna have to switch to steroidal injections, (WHICH I AM COMPLETELY OKAY WITHOUT.)  
> Basically, finding time to type chapters when I'm not feeling like garbage or busy with life, is like finding a needle in a haystack. BUT! I love you guys! Every single one of you! And every single one of you helps motivate me to do what I love despite all the crap that's thrown at me.   
> Okay, okay. That's enough talking. I bet this thing is already longer than this entire chapter! :D  
> Hope you enjoyed. Take care.  
> ~CB


	31. Cold

   Frisk doodled away merrily at the kitchen table, having Undyne and Papyrus by her side drinking golden flower tea. Her legs swung back and forth, mindlessly adding details to her drawing as the two of them chatted.

   “There’s this coffee shop down the street from where I work, and they make some _really_ good cookies. They aren’t that expensive either.” Undyne shared.

   “Really? Well, I should tell that to Lady Toriel.” Papyrus stated.

   “Just don’t let Muffet know. I don’t think she would like it if we started driving away her customers.”

   Frisk put down her pencil and quickly covered her mouth as a coughing attack erupted, interrupting their conversation. It rattled in her lungs as she inhaled, leaving her with concerned looks from the both of them.

   “Human, are you alright? That did not sound too good.” Papyrus worried once she had stopped.

   “I’m okay. It’s just a cough.” She dismissed.

   “It sounds like it’s been getting worse. Here, maybe _you_ should be drinking this.” Undyne added while sliding the rest of her tea towards Frisk. She accepted it gratefully and took a small careful sip.

   “Thanks.”

   “If you want, I can ask Alphys for some medicine.” She offered.

   “Yeah. That would be great.” Frisk smiled.

    Despite the ongoing coughing fits, Frisk felt happier than she ever had been before. The protesters and bullies weren’t giving her any trouble thanks to Ethan and the police’s help. Sans and Toriel were also keeping a closer eye for any suspicious figures that dared to cross with them. Frisk was relieved. She felt safe. She felt…welcomed.

     It was only a matter of time before it all came undone.

   ~---~

      As the days passed on, the temperature had been gradually decreasing into a frigid cold front. The newscasters and doppler radar had been hinting at an impending snow storm, and Frisk was anticipating its arrival. She had told her closest friends at school, and they all hoped it would land on Monday, so that they could get the day off from school.

   “We’ll see what happens.” Zeke said in a hushed voice, class ready to start.

   The day dragged on as the child had finished up her English classwork, putting the book that she was reading away. She still had a few more minutes until art class began. She yawned- which then morphed into a small cough- and settled back in her seat, staring directly out the window. The sky was gray and dreary. Thank the stars it was a Friday.

   She noticed a couple of dead leaves fly away as the wind picked up. She faintly smiled to herself, recalling Sans’ game of eye-spy. How he took care of her during that rough patch. How he played games with her and comforted her until Frisk was ready to talk to him.

   A shocked gasp erupted behind her, snapping her out of her daydream.

   “It’s snowing!”

   She peered outside and saw flakes of white snow, fluttering to the ground, sticking to the concrete. The children’s eyes lit up in excitement.

   The teachers chuckled, finding the class’s newfound glee contagious.

   Frisk could see the bare trees sway in the wind, as more and more snow quickly piled up. The other children leaned closer to window watching in awe. Frisk turned around to speak to Damion.

   “I guess the snow storm came earlier than expected, huh?”

   The teachers of course eventually had to refocus the class on their studies, continuing to the next subject- art. Mrs. Dodd kept checking the computer for any news about the storm, trying to keep the class updated.

   Fifteen minutes later she got an email from the administrators.

   “Children, I’ve got some good news for you!” She announced, gaining everyone’s attention. The class went quiet.

   “You get to go home early today.”

   The children cheered joyfully, growing louder by the second. Mrs. Park explained how their parents would be getting a phone call and that they would be dismissed at the end of the period, right before lunch.

   “Totally wasn’t expecting that. Well, I’m not complaining. Half-day on a Friday? I’ll take it!” Eden laughed.

   Class was over before they knew it, and everyone packed their stuff, hastily put on their coats, and left the building, leaving Frisk behind with the three teachers.

   “I unfortunately have to stay behind dear. Make sure you call Sans and tell him you came out early, alright?”

   “ ‘Kay Mom! See you later!” Frisk called after, rushing to put on her coat and gloves.

   “And bundle up too! It’s freezing out there!” She warned. Frisk nodded and zipped up her coat, wrapping around a black scarf Toriel had knitted for her.

   “Okay!”

   The child said a quick goodbye to the other teachers and ran outside in the snowy weather. The chilly air filled her lungs as the temperature change caused her to cough out. She covered her neck as best she could with the scarf and reached into her pocket to call Sans.

   She was greeted with emptiness.

   Thinking that she must have put it in her other pocket, she reached inside, feeling nothing but empty space and pocket lint.

   She froze, trying to think where she could have placed her phone.

   She swung her bookbag off, dusting the snow that had already gathered at her shoulders. It was quickly piling on, with three inches already covering the ground. She hastily searched through the inside pockets of her backpack, failing to find her cellphone.

   She was suddenly hit with the memory of her leaving her cellphone at the kitchen table when she set it down to eat breakfast.

   She sighed heavily, realizing that Sans wouldn’t be able to teleport to her without knowing today was a half-day. She turned around and tried to re-enter the building so she could use a phone.

   The door didn’t budge. Figures. It was locked. Nobody was allowed to enter the building once they left due to safety precautions.

   Frisk facepalmed, feeling snowflakes land on her eyelashes. She wiped them away and felt for the house key. All the other parents had already swooped up their kids and had already left the premises.

    She was going to have to walk home.

   It was a ten-minute drive to the school and if she started walking now, it would be at least thirty.

   Well, at least she was prepared for the cold.

  ~---~

   The blizzard was rapidly growing more and more extreme. The wind was pushing the poor girl back, her scarf fluttering in the wind. She trudged across tall snow mounds, noting how it was beginning to rise against her leg, as he each step sunk deeper and deeper in the snow. Air swept through her lungs, creating an endless coughing attack. Her vision was limited, pure white blinding her every which way.

   “ _This was a bad idea.”_

Frisk frowned at Chara’s intrusion.

  “ _Frisk, you’re sick.”_

   Now she was confused. Sick? Sure, she had a bad cough, but she wouldn’t consider that “sick” per say.

   _“You haven’t noticed how you’re burning up? You’re on fire right now and it’s below twenty.”_ Chara stated. Frisk took a minute to evaluate herself.

   She was right. She hadn’t noticed just how much she had been sweating. She was winded, but that could easily be explained by the harsh winds circling around her.

   _“Hurry up and go home so the bonehead brothers can give you medicine.”_

   Frisk nodded, and trudged along.

~---~

   Frisk was baking. Her coat and scarf made her body heat cling onto her like a blanket, and she had finally had enough. She unzipped her coat and took off her scarf. She stuffed it in her bookbag and marched on, the snow now about four inches tall.

   _“What are you doing? You’re only going to get more sick if you do that.”_ Chara warned.

   “I’m too hot….The snow feels nice anyways…” Frisk mumbled. She felt exhausted.

   Suddenly she felt her stomach turn. She stopped in her tracks and groaned. She felt like she was going to vomit.

   “I need to sit down…” Frisk said, eyes glancing at a nearby pine tree.

   _“No, no breaks. Just go home.”_ Chara growled.

   Frisk ignored her and sat down by the tree, body sinking into the sheet of snow. She sighed in satisfaction as the snow covered her burning body. The nausea went away as quickly as it came to much her relief.

   _“Frisk, what are you doing?! Get up! You’re sick! We don’t have time to sit and lounge around.”_ She hissed. Frisk shut her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze. Her clothing was covered in a light dusting of snow.

   “It feels nice…Plus…I feel tired.” She added groggily. She rested her head against the tree.

   _“Frisk. Get. Up. NOW.”_

“It’s alright Chara. Just for five minutes.” She assured her.

   _“Come on Frisk. What if something happens to you? You could get kidnapped. Or attacked. It’s not safe to be here. Plus there is seriously something wrong with your body right now. You need to go home while you still can. You’re not in good condition. I can’t help you if that happens.”_ Chara pleaded.

   Frisk gave no response, only labored breaths. White smoke puffed out of her mouth and nose, filling the atmosphere.

   _“Frisk.”_

No response.

   _“Please Frisk- You need medical attention. Your body is shutting down- I can feel it!”_

Nothing.

   _“Frisk!”_

~---~

   Sans stared out the window, joke book in hand, watching the storm take place. He checked his phone, seeing that it was already 2:40. Frisk would have called him by now. Maybe she decided to stay with Toriel until it was time to go. He hummed and resumed reading, trying not to worry too much about it. Unfortunately, his anxiety got the better of him and he decided to call Frisk to make sure she was okay.

   He froze when he heard her ringtone coming from the kitchen. He groaned, realizing she must have forgotten it, and there was no way she could reach him to let him know to come get her.

   He shut the joke book and snapped his fingers, teleporting to the school, not a single kid or parent in sight.

   “Frisk?” He called out in the emptiness.

   Not a single peep.

   He searched the whole drop off zone and concluded that she wasn’t there. She was most likely inside with Toriel, but there was still a worrying suspicion in the back of his mind.

   Sans decided to call Toriel, despite if she would be annoyed by him calling her at work. She picked up at the final ring.

   “Hello Sans. What’s going on?” She wondered.

   “Hey Tori, is the kiddo there with you?” He urgently asked.

   “No…There was an early dismissal…” Toriel slowly stated.

   Sans felt his soul stop, all breath leaving him as dread overcame him.

   “I thought she was with you.” Toriel added with more alarm.

   “No, she forgot her phone at the house.” Sans explained, already searching the premises a second time.

   “Well then where is she?” She panicked.

   “Uh, hey! You know, maybe she’s playing with her friends in the snow at the playground.” Sans said, trying to keep a level head.

   “Okay. Call me if that’s the case.” She said hesitantly, concern dripping into her tone. Sans hung up without saying goodbye and started to freak. Frisk was lost and it was all his fault. Toriel was going to kill him.

   “Where the hell are you kid…”

~---~

   Frisk slowly fluttered her eyes open, finally regaining consciousness. She could have sworn someone was calling her name. Her eyes widened in horror, realizing that the sky was much darker than she last remembered. How long was she out? It only felt like a few minutes but that was clearly not the case.

   “Frisk!”

   There it was again. A faint voice far off in the distance calling out to her. One thing was for certain, she no longer felt like she was burning up. Quite the opposite now. She was shivering, absolutely freezing cold now.

   Her body was covered in a blanket of snow, and the storm was still going. She was exhausted, and her body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

   _“You idiot.”_

Frisk winced as she tried to pull herself up. Her fingers were completely frozen stiff, too numb to even properly move her legs. She coughed out, sputtering for air, noting the amount of flem being produced.

   “Frisk, please! If you’re out here, then say something!”

   The voice was louder now, but her mind felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

   _“Pull yourself together.”_

“Kiddo! Come on! I’m worried.”

   Frisk shot upright momentarily, realizing who that familiar voice was.

   “Sans…” She rasped out. Her voice sounded awful, and it was clear that however long she was out here, must have ruined her voice.

   _”Louder. Say it louder.”_

“S…Sans..!” She forced out more audible now. The howling wind had died down, and she could barely hear the crunching of snow under his feet. She couldn’t see where he was coming from, for the snowflakes being swept in the wind blinded her.

   “Frisk!” He called out to the sky.

   “M’right here!” She managed out. Her screaming was cut off when a strong coughing fit erupted from her throat. Luckily for her, the attack was loud enough to get Sans’ attention, his head spinning towards the direction of the noise.

   “Kid?” He questioned.

   Frisk settled back into her spot, ready for the welcoming arms of unconsciousness to envelop her again. She was so exhausted. Right when she was about to shut her eyes, she was met with a flash of blue. He was still far away, but at least now she could see him.

   “S-Sans…”

   Sans turned and saw a strange mound in the snow. He could barely make out the pink and purple coat, and suddenly, a strange mixture of fear and relief crashed over him.

   “Oh, no, no, no…” He repeated running towards the figure.

   Sure enough, it was her. Losing consciousness in the snow, with rugged breathing and covered head to toe with snow.

   **”Frisk! What the hell- why are you buried under all this snow?!”** He questioned, already using his hands to dig her out. She was shaking like a leaf, and her teeth were chattering. Her skin tone looked pale, almost blue even.

   “I’m s-s-sorry. I f-f-felt sick. C-c-couldn’t keep m-my eyes open.” She tried to explain, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She was so stupid! Sans must have been so worried about her. She couldn’t even manage walking home by herself.

   Sans had to admit, he did feel slightly better knowing that some jackass didn’t do this to her, or that she got jumped walking home- but still. It wasn’t enough to completely soothe his troubles. He gently but hastily picked up the freezing child and held her tight. Sans hoped that she hadn’t received any sort of frostbite from being in the cold for so long. It was definitely apparent that she had hypothermia- which meant that he had to get her to the house ASAP.

  He snapped his fingers, and let his magic take care of the rest. His feet landed on hardwood floor, warmth quickly enclosing the child. She winced, the numbness in her body turned into a burning sensation due to the rapid change in temperature. She glanced over and saw Papyrus on the couch, now alert upon their arrival.

   “Brother! You found the human!” He happily cheered, relief flooding over him.

   **“Get her some blankets right now. Try to find some dry clothes for her too. She’s freezing.”** Sans ordered, maintaining a level head. Papyrus’ smile rapidly faded upon hearing his brother’s voice.

   “Y…Yes of course! I’ll be right back!” He saluted before rushing upstairs. Sans looked down at the shivering child, his heart clenching in guilt. He set her down on the couch and unzipped her jacket, snow falling off and landing on the carpet below her. Her shirt was coated in frost, along with the bottoms of her pants.

   Papyrus came back in only a few minutes with two warm fluffy blankets, and some sweatpants in Frisk’s size.

   “Would you like some help changing human? It appears you’re having trouble moving your fingers right now…” Papyrus offered. Frisk nodded, allowing Papyrus to help her into the dry clothing. Sans meanwhile took the opportunity to call Toriel and let her know that Frisk was safe and sound.

   He dialed her number and she picked up on the second ring.

   “Hello?”

   “Hey Tori. Just calling to say that Frisk is home.”

   He heard a long sigh of satisfaction coming from her side.

   “Thank goodness. I’m glad you were able to find her. Where was she anyways?” She asked curiously.

   “Uh…Well, she was sleeping under a tree. Not really sure why…” He trailed off, glancing towards the living room. “She says she felt sick. I’m guessing she wanted to rest for a little bit but ended up staying there longer than she intended. Anyways…. She’s here now. All we’re trying to do is warm her up a little and maybe we could get some more answers.”

   “Yes…that seems like a good idea. I’ll be out in another half an hour. Thank you Sans.”

   “Of course Tori.”

   He hung up and paced back to the living room. Frisk was now buried under a pile of blankets, as Papyrus began to take off her drenched socks, replacing them with fuzzy pink and white stripped ones.

   “How you holding up kiddie?” Sans wondered.

   “I don’t f-feel good.” She admitted through chattered teeth. Her nausea was back and it made her feel like she was on a boat in a storm.

   “Ooh! Brother! What if we called Asgore over? He can make some of that special golden flower tea Frisk likes so much.” Papyrus suggested. Sans smiled appreciatively.

   “Good idea bro. You’re so smart.” He commented, already dialing his phone. Asgore picked up on the final ring.

   “Howdy Sans.” He greeted merrily.

   “Hi Asgore. Are you busy?” Sans said cutting to the chase.

   “No, not really. Just some paperwork as usual. Why?” He pondered.

   “Frisk isn’t feeling too hot,” Sans started, unintentionally making a pun. “Could you maybe swing by and make some of your special tea for her? She could really use some right now.” He answered.

   “Of course! I will leave right now. I shall be over in a few minutes.” He responded, as Sans could already hear shuffling.

   “Alright. Thank you so much.”

   They hung up, and the three of them eagerly waited for Asgore’s arrival.

~---~

   During the drive home from work, Toriel’s mind was racing with a million thoughts. Part of her was worried about how Frisk could have simply just ‘fallen asleep’ in a raging blizzard for hours, and another part of her felt somewhat responsible for it happening in the first place. She wondered if someone had harmed her or knocked her out and she wasn’t telling the truth, or maybe perhaps she lost track of time on her way home? Maybe she had gotten lost?

   Toriel shook her head, parking in the street and exiting the car. She walked towards the door, unlocking it, and pushed herself inside.

   She was greeted with four people on the couch, surrounding a small lump covered in blankets. A mug was in her hands, with the TV playing at a low volume. She was certainly surprised to see Asgore there, sitting next to them, casually drinking a beverage as well.

   “Welcome home.” Papyrus greeted.

   “Hello boys. My child? Is that you under there..?” She asked, unable to contain her slight chuckle.

   “Yup.” Frisk responded, voice hoarse and gravely.

   “Goodness, you do not sound well…” Toriel mumbled, reaching over to put her paw on the child’s face. She felt warm, but her skin was still a bit pale.

   “Don’t worry Tori. Asgore fixed up some tea for her and she should be good as new.” Sans assured her. Asgore nodded. Toriel eyed him carefully.

   “Good.” She finally said, content. She walked away and put down her belongings.

   “Frisk? What happened to have made you fall asleep under a tree, of all places?” Toriel questioned.

   Frisk coughed a bit before answering.

   “I felt dizzy, so I sat down and rested my eyes for a bit,” she explained in between coughs. “I felt so exhausted and sick…I must have passed out.” She whispered, unsure of herself. It felt so surreal.

   “Well…please try to be more careful next time. We were all really worried about you. It’s not your fault, but I really thought someone had swept you up during the storm.” Toriel lightly told. Frisk nodded.

   “I understand.” She said, taking a slow sip from her tea, sighing in content at the flavor. Toriel kissed her on the head, earning a small smile from Frisk.

   “Anyways, I am sure that you are hungry, am I correct?” Toriel wondered, changing the subject. Frisk nodded.

   “How about some homemade soup tonight, hmm?”

   Frisk ‘ooed’ in delight, causing Toriel to laugh slightly.

   “Heehee. I knew you’d like that.”

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sick Frisk coming soon.  
> Like, REEEEAAAAALLLY sick.  
> And angst.  
> And pain.  
> So. Much. Pain.  
> Anyways, I know I was pretty much MIA for the whole month of October, so I tried to make it up by dropping a nine page chapter. :p  
> Oh, and I have some more good news- I don't have anymore pain from my JRA, so the medicine is working! (YAY!) Maybe now I won't have to spend so much time around doctors appointments and getting bloodwork done hmm? Plus holiday break is creeping up and that means I'll have a little extra time to hopefully type some more chapters. (Believe me, I really want to break this schedule of one chapter per month. At this rate I'll finish this story by the time I'm eighty.)  
> Thank you all so much for your kind words of encouragement. If you're still here with me reading this right now, thank you. I can never say it enough.  
> Stay cool.  
> ~CB


	32. Sick

   Through tired eyes and a full belly, Frisk saw Asgore move from the couch. Her head was laying comfortably on Sans’ shoulder, a fluffy blanket wrapped delicately around her body, encasing her in a cocoon of warmth. Asgore mumbled something to her, but she was too out of it to comprehend anything. It felt like he was miles away, unable to connect with her. Regardless, Frisk was already exhausted, and she slowly drifted off into sleep after watching the king give Sans a gentle pat on the back before saying goodbye.

~---~

   Her eyes slowly fluttered open at the realization that she was beginning to get a little hot underneath the blankets. She pushed them off of her, letting the sheets fall to the floor. She was no longer on the couch. Instead, she was laying down in her own bed, the lights off and the moon shining through the window. Sans must have taken her upstairs when she fell asleep.

   Despite Frisk kicking the blankets off, she was still sweating. She was too uncomfortable to continue sleeping, but nonetheless, she stayed in her bed resting her eyes. An alarming wave of nausea crashed over her, feeling like she was swept up by the ocean. She slowly sat up, a chill rushing up her spine despite how her body was boiling like the sun. She swallowed thickly, her throat dry yet sore.

   _“Go get Sans.”_

   Chara’s warning was enough to get Frisk moving. She clambered out of bed, careful not to wake up the entire household. On shaky legs, Frisk carefully walked over to the door, slowly swinging it open. She lost her footing, but quickly placed a hand on the doorway to balance herself. Her head was throbbing in time with her heart beat. She needed to get to Sans.

   Suddenly she felt bile reach up her throat.

   Making a run for the bathroom, she flicked the lights on, kneeled in front of the toilet, and emptied her stomach’s contents. The acid burned the back of her throat and nose, causing her eyes to water. She shut them tightly as she vomited for the second time.

   Finally, she had caught a break, and she slowly leaned away from the bowl, flushing everything down the drain. She laid back and rested her head against the wall. Its coolness relieved her, and she shut her eyes and tried to ignore the pounding headache that only intensified from the vomiting.

   “Kid?”

   Frisk didn’t even hear Sans walk up to her. She opened her eyes and groaned in misery.

   The skeleton kneeled at Frisk’s level, eye lights smaller than usual.

   “Baby bones? You alright?” He whispered softly, voice showing concern. He rested a bony hand on her forehead and immediately retracted when he felt her temperature.

   “You’re burning up.” He stated.

   Frisk could feel another wave of nausea coming, bile quickly resurfacing from her mouth. She vomited again in the toilet, startling Sans.

   **“Woah, okay…Easy kid…”**

   Sans gently rubbed circles on her back, until Frisk was left dry heaving, with nothing left in her stomach. She was sweating through her pajamas and shaking immensely.

   **“It’s alright Frisk...** Just…take it easy.” Sans comforted. He glanced out into the hallway wondering if the commotion was waking up the others.

   If the comic was being honest…he was scared. He never saw a human get sick like this. Sure, monsters sometimes got sick with magic buildup or if their HP was down, but he hadn’t seen anything like this. He read about it in that book of illnesses he got from the dump, but he had never realized how heavy the toll was on a human body.

   When Frisk was finished, she clumsily reached out and flushed the handle. She felt exhausted, and her muscles ached from the contracting. Her throat burned, and her breath probably didn’t smell too good. She slouched over, leaning on Sans to support her shaky form.

   “Alright kiddie. Let’s get you into bed.” Sans said swooping up the child in his large arms. Frisk said nothing as she rested her head against his chest, too tired to fight against him.

   He carefully walked over to her room and tucked her back into bed, pulling the trash bin closer to her bedside. Now Frisk was shivering, finally breaking out into a cold sweat. Sans sat by her bedside and closed the door to the room. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Alphys’ number, staring down at the suffering child with pity.

   There was no answer to Alphys phone.

   He sighed and looked at the child. Her eyes were tightly shut, her head pounding in agony. Maybe he should wake up Toriel? She would know what to do right?

   He stopped himself, rethinking his plan. Probably not a good idea right now. He’d only make her worry. And as far as Sans knew, sick children was a responsibility Toriel had to burden too many times before. He was going to have to do this himself until morning came at least.

   “Okay Frisk. What do you need? Tell me what you’re feeling.” He finalized.

   “Sick.” She croaked.

  “Tch. Yeah, I know kid. I can clearly see that. Besides uh…puking, what else is bothering?” Sans asked.

   “I’m hot…” Frisk said through chattering teeth. Sans looked at her disbelief. She was clearly shivering like when she was caught in the snow storm but…how was she still hot? It didn’t make much sense to him, but he figured it must have been a little bit of both.

   “My head is pounding.” She added through whimpering.

   Sans got up from the bed ready for his first course of action.

   “Alright…I’m gonna get you an ice pack and some water. I’ll be right back.”

   And so the skeleton gathered the things he needed and hurried back to Frisk, who was leaning halfway off the bed gagging and dry heaving over the trash can. Nothing came up but a little bit of saliva. She leaned back into her bed, pushing the blankets away.

   Sans got to work and gently laid the frozen pack on the child’s forehead, brushing some stray hairs away in the process. He helped her drink some water that he brought in a cup and let her drift off into sleep.

   It was going to be a long day.

~---~

   By daybreak, Papyrus had woken up and found the two of them in Frisk’s room. Sans had told him about the fever, which was clear by the amount of dry heaving Frisk was doing over her trash can. Papyrus volunteered to help as much as he could by beginning to search the internet for possible remedies until Alphys woke up. Until then, the two waited patiently, as Sans did his best to keep the sick child at bay.

   Sans sat on the bed, simply watching the sun rise from the window. It was something he grew fond of ever since they moved to the surface. Frisk was falling in and out of consciousness, occasionally waking up to throw up some more. In the end, they both weren’t getting much sleep.

   He heard her whimper in her sleep for the third time. She was having bad dreams, but Sans refused to wake her up. He hated seeing her in such distress, but the sleep could help her with the pain of her fever. As long as she wasn’t waking up screaming, Sans felt like he could let her go through with the nightmare. He felt horrible for doing it, but it was better than keeping her awake and suffering through the day until her symptoms passed.

   When Toriel awoke, it was 9 AM. She saw the whimpering child in bed and immediately knew she was sick.

   “How long has she been like this?” She asked Sans.

   “Uh…since…two in the morning? Something like that…” He answered, putting his hand on her forehead. Still hot despite the ice pack being there.

   “Goodness…You should have woken me up.” She complained.

   “And what? Have two monsters stay wake and worry about her? One was enough. There’s no sense in us _both_ being sleep deprived.” He explained.

   Toriel stood quiet. He made a good point.

   “Have you contacted Alphys at all?” She questioned.

   “I tried calling her, but she’s probably still asleep. We might need to send Papyrus out to go get medicine until then.” Sans answered.

  Toriel looked at Frisk. The shivering child was slightly pale and sweating bullets.

   “Has she eaten anything yet?”

   “No. She’s been throwing up the water I’m giving her so I wasn’t sure what to do.” He admitted.

   “Well, I’ll go make some toast for her. If after breakfast she hasn’t gotten better we should go to the store and buy her medicine.” Toriel stated.

   “Alright. Sounds like a plan.”

   Toriel went ahead and made the toast for Frisk, bringing it back to her and helping her eat it, as Sans watched her carefully. She ate the first slice, but then stopped before taking a bite out of the second slice.

   “You have to eat my child. You need to keep your strength up.” Toriel encouraged. Frisk groaned in agony, as she felt her stomach turn. She laid back down, not wanting to think about food any longer.

   Toriel sighed as she surrendered and put the plate of toast down on the nearby dresser. As she was doing this, Sans phone started to ring. He picked it up and answered it immediately.

   “Hello?”

   “Hey Sans. Sorry I didn’t p-pick up. I was sleeping. D-did you need something?” Alphys asked.

   “Yeah. Frisk is sick. She’s hot, and she’s throwing up too. Do you have any medicine that might help?” Sans asked with urgency.

   “Oh no! I-I’m sorry to hear that! Um…yeah! Hang on…I-I’ve got to check what I have…” She mumbled. Sans waited as he heard frantic shuffling on the other end of the line.

   “Yeah. I’ve got some p-pretty basic over the counter fever reducing medicine. I-it’s not much but maybe it’ll help her f-feel better.”

   Sans teleported in the blink of an eye to Alphys, reappearing suddenly in front of her eyes. She jumped in surprise, but handed him the medicine.

   “Thanks doc.”

   He focused and teleported back to Frisk’s room, the box of medicine in his hands.

   “U-um…no problem Sans. L-Let me know if Frisk starts to feel better or not. I can probably come over if th-that’s the case.” She offered over the phone.

   “Okay. We’ll see what happens. We’ll keep you posted.” Sans concluded as he ended the call.

   He handed Toriel the medicine, who poured out the correct dosage for her to take. The child drank the syrup and closed her eyes.

   Now they wait.

~---~

   An hour had passed and Frisk wasn’t feeling any better. The toast she had eaten didn’t sit for long in her queasy stomach much to the boss monsters’ dismay. Undyne had heard from Alphys that Frisk was sick, and she bought some chicken noodle soup from a restaurant for her to eat. She hoped that maybe the broth would be enough to give her some sort of nutrients.

   “Come on punk. Just eat the damn soup.” Undyne growled while spoon feeding the sick child.

   “Undyne, I don’t think that’s helping.” Papyrus said. The two of them were watching over her as Sans and Toriel took a break from the exhausting work.

   “Yeah, well neither is refusing to eat anything!” She hissed. Frisk sighed, staring at the spoon in front of her closed mouth.

   “Human…I know that you are not feeling well, but once you have eaten something, you should start to feel better.” Papyrus reasoned.

   “So hurry up and eat the stupid soup before I shove it down your throat.” Undyne threatened.

   Hesitantly, Frisk opened her mouth and took the spoon in her mouth, finally eating the soup.

   Undyne and Papyrus high-fived at their victory and continued to very slowly feed Frisk.

~---~

   Alphys came over soon after, and examined Frisk for herself. Her eyes were red, and there were some signs of dehydration present as well.

   “Has she managed to keep a-anything down?” Alphys asked, searching through her bag of medical equipment.

   “Besides a little bit of soup, not really.” Sans replied. Toriel, Undyne and Papyrus was lingering by the door in curiosity.

   “Okay…” She simply mumbled. She reached in the bag and pulled out a thermometer. Before uncapping it, she felt her forehead and frowned.

   “You weren’t kidding when you said she was burning up.” She added. She popped the thermometer in Frisk’s mouth as they all waited anxiously for the device to beep again.

   “I’m going to go get some more ice for her.” Papyrus stated, walking downstairs and into the kitchen.

   “Yeah. I’m gonna get some fresh air.” Undyne agreed. Now it was just Sans, Toriel and Alphys.

   Alphys glanced over Frisk, watching in silent horror as the thermometer kept climbing up. It beeped, signifying that it was done. Her eyes widened, but she refused to cause a panic upon seeing the numbers on the screen.

   “What’s it say?” Toriel urged

   “S-she has a _very_ high fever of a-a h-hundred and three.”

   Sans’ eye lights went out at the shocking conclusion, as Toriel stood there in mutual trepidation.

   “What can we do to bring it down?” Sans asked, eye lights still missing. It scared Alphys, sending a shiver down her spine.

    “…That’s the thing…W-we can’t do much…I-I could probably give her an IV since s-she’s dehydrated. If the medicine isn’t doing much then…I’m not sure what else I can do…It’s j-just a thing Frisk has to fight off on her o-own.” Alphys explained.

   “What if she gets worse?” Toriel worried.

   “…Then maybe we should consider calling a h-human doctor.” The reptile advised. “But If I’m being honest, I don’t th-think they’ll have much to add either…”

   Sans’ eye lights returned, but they were much smaller than usual. He glanced at Toriel who he could tell was silently panicking.

   “We’ll see what happens.”

~---~

   Another hour passed and Alphys had hooked up an IV drip in Frisk’s room. Sans and Toriel stayed by her side at all times, refusing to leave the room for anything. Alphys worked on getting the temperature down on the child, and also keeping her hydrated. Undyne and Paps had been doing a good job on keeping her company, and feeding her soup, but the meals didn’t sit for long in her stomach. It was an endless cycle of hunger and nausea for the poor kid.

   It was nerve wracking for Sans especially. This was the second time he had seen Frisk with an IV attached to her arm. For Toriel, this was the second time she had a sick child on her hands. At least Undyne and Papyrus were overflowing with optimism.

   “When you feel up to it Frisk, I could rent a movie for all of us to watch.” Undyne offered.

   “Depends…On…which movie it is…” She managed. She was exhausted and sweating up a storm as she spoke.

   “Whatever you want. Even…” Undyne trailed off. She crossed her arms, and pouted. “Even that cheesy lion movie. With all the animals in it.” She elaborated.

   Frisk gave no response, only giving an empty stare to Undyne. Her eyes were glassy, making Undyne feel uneasy.

   “Hey…You alright there Frisk?” She nervously said. Frisk gave no reply, earning a few concerned looks from the others.

   “Kid?” Sans called after.

   Her breathing suddenly became short and labored. Her slight shivering slowly growing in intensity. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t speak. She felt no control of her body whatsoever.

   Her eyes began to roll back into her head, as she choked on her saliva, startling everyone in the room. Her body jerked uncontrollably, as Alphys was by her side in seconds.

   “Frisk?!”

   **“Oh Stars- KID?!”**

“Oh goodness! Frisk!?”

   “What’s happening to her?!”

   Alphys turned the twitching child on her side, as the others screamed in panic.

   “Oh god, she’s having a seizure!” Alphys spat out, shielding Frisk’s head from cracking onto the headboard.

   “What should we do?!”

   **“No, no, no, no-“**

“Frisk?! Oh god-“

   Alphys turned her head sharply to the panicking monsters.

   “I want everyone out right now!” She demanded.

“But-“

   “Out, now!”

   Undyne followed her orders and hurriedly shoved everyone out the doorway, shutting the door behind her as they all exited the room, finally giving the doctor space.

   It felt like centuries until Frisk had stopped seizing, but when she did, she blinked her eyes and they returned to normal. Alphys wiped up the saliva at the corner of her mouth and checked her vitals.

   “Alphys?” She sputtered in confusion. “What happened to me?”

   “You had a seizure Frisk.” She answered bluntly, listening to her racing heartbeat.

   “Oh…That’s not good.” She slurred. She was losing consciousness.

   “No it isn’t. If we take you to the ER, what would they do? This isn’t an easy fix like last time. They can’t really do much if it’s your immune system that’s the problem.”

   “Let’s not…do this again…I’ve had enough…hospitals…” She breathed out. She was out like a light in seconds. Alphys took the thermometer and began to get another reading off Frisk. As she waited, she listed all the symptoms Frisk was showing.

   Severe nausea, chills, high fever, seizures…

   The thermometer beeped.

   One hundred and four. Her fever was still rising.

  “ _If this fever doesn’t break soon…we might be looking at something more like Hyperpyrexia. God, I really hope that’s not the case…Guess we should call a human doctor now and see if he can help. I doubt it, but we could really use the extra help.”_ Alphys thought to herself.

   It couldn’t hurt.

~---~

   Alphys left Frisk alone in the room as she took a deep breath to compose herself. The boss monsters were waiting downstairs, all anxiously waiting for her arrival.

   “Is Frisk okay?” Toriel asked cutting to the chase.

   “Her seizure passed…W-wish I could say the same for her fever. I-It’s still rising. I think I’m going to have to c-call a human doctor over.” Alphys informed.

   “I could teleport her to the hospital again.” Sans piped up.

   “No. There’s nothing they can do to help b-besides offer an IV drip and medicine, which, I a-already did. Plus the v-vertigo from the teleportation could make her feel w-worse.” She explained. Sans deflated in his chair.

   “…I’m going to call a doctor I know of. I’ve worked with him a-a few times. I-I don’t see him often because the medical field i-isn’t really my thing…” Alphys concluded. She walked away to make the private phone call.

   The boss monsters eyed each other warily.

   “I’m gonna call Asgore.” Undyne muttered.

   “Alright…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooow, impressive CB. Two chapters in one month. (Must be a miracle!)  
> Now, I'm just warning you now, the next few chapters will be posted back to back in order to keep the level of immersion that I want. (Cuz lets face it, if I post it like two weeks later, some of you may have forgotten what happened in the previous chapter!)  
> Buckle up dear Reader.  
> It's gonna be a rough ride. :)


	33. Dying Breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. :')

   All six boss monsters had gathered together, nervously watching the doctor they had invited in the room. He had a stethoscope around his neck, listening carefully to Frisk’s heartbeat as she slept soundly. It wasn’t so much that she was finally at peace, but more so that her body was done fighting for the day. At this point her sickness was consuming her, but at least she was unconscious and unable to feel the pain it brought.

   “How is she Dr. Kline? Do you think she’ll be okay?” Toriel finally spoke up in a hushed voice. The man was wearing a gray suit. He was a skinny fellow with faint wrinkles on his face. He was balding, and had thin white hair growing at the back of his head. Slowly, he put away his stethoscope and pushed his glasses up.

   “I am not going to lie to you…This child is extremely ill.” He started. The boss monsters visibly deflated.

   “Is she going to be okay?” Asgore repeated desperate for some sort of answer.

   “Your majesty, I do not wish to alarm you any further, but Frisk’s condition is worsening. It’s alarming how quickly her body temperature is increasing. Alphys dear? You said that Frisk had a seizure?” He questioned.

   “Y-yes sir. She has a fever of 105 degrees. I-I gave her an IV drip with ibuprofen and acetaminophen.”

   The doctor looked over the sleeping child. Her breathing was at least back to normal.

  “Rightfully so. She’s dehydrated. I had my doubts when you told me over the phone. I thought maybe you were scared or unsure since she was a human. But I see now, that you have been taking excellent care of the situation.” He complemented.

   “Thank you sir…” Alphys mumbled. She was glad that she was taking care of Frisk properly, but it didn’t mean much considering she was still sick.

   “What can we do to help?” Undyne asked.

   “The only thing we can do is wait and hope for the better.” He sighed.

   “We have been waiting!” Toriel snapped with tears in her eyes. “How much longer will it take for the medicine to work? Look at her! She’s in pain…”

   Dr. Kilne’s gaze hardened as he finally broke the news to the six of them.

   “I am well aware of the severity of Frisk’s condition Ms. Toriel. In fact, by the way Frisk’s fever keeps climbing, I would not rule out the possible threat of hyperpyrexia.”

   “What’s hyperpyrexia?” Sans asked warily.

   “It’s a fever that becomes higher than 106. She’s at 105 right now and the fever still hasn’t broken even with the help of medicine.”

   “What happens if it keeps rising?” He reluctantly questioned.

   “If her body temperature gets that high…this fever may become deadly.”

   A startled gasp came from Toriel, as Asgore significantly whitened in fear. Undyne’s eyes shrank into small dots, as Papyrus covered his mouth in shock. Alphys bored into the floor, already knowing about the possibility, while Sans’ eye lights went out altogether.

   Toriel could not control the tears that came to her eyes as her muffled cries filled the room. She eventually had to excuse herself and leave the room to compose herself.

   The doctor sighed heavily not enjoying this part of the job.

   “I will be here keeping an eye on the temperature. I will alert you if her condition worsens or improves.” He concluded somberly. The rest of them took the hint, and let themselves out the room, going back downstairs to process what the doctor had just said.

   They were all silent, with Toriel nowhere to be seen. She was probably still crying. After staring into the floor for what felt like centuries, Sans finally broke the silence.

   “It’s…all my fault.” He whispered, voice barely audible. His bones were shaking, and his eye lights had not returned since the news was told.

   “If…If I had found her sooner then maybe she wouldn’t have gotten sick…” He trailed off.

   “Stop. Stop talking like that.” Papyrus interrupted. He placed a firm hand on his brother’s shoulder to get his attention.

   “Dr. Kilne didn’t say that she was dying for sure.”

   Sans’ eye lights eventually came back with that sentence. Hope. Leave it to Papyrus to keep him going with hope.

   Sans took a shaky breath in. He wanted to believe that. He wanted to trust in that sentence.

   But he knew that the odds were extremely unlikely.

   Still. He would hold onto any scrap of hope he could get.

   “Come on kid…Come on…You gotta break the fever now before it’s too late.”

~---~

   Almost an hour later, Dr. Kline had walked downstairs to see the boss monsters. All six of them were present, and anxiously waiting to hear some sort of good news come from the doctor.

   He held a grim expression, which only concerned them even more.

   “…I’m sorry.” He simply stated.

   Just those two words alone were enough to throw all of the monsters in a state of panic.

   “No…” Sans whispered.

   “Her fever has risen to 106. I have not given up on bringing it down, but I think you should all know that this could take a turn for the worst at any second.” He gently informed.

   “Throw her into an ice bath or something! I-I don’t know, but we can’t just sit by and let her die doctor!” Undyne shouted angerly.

   “If we were to do that, there’s a chance she could go into shock, triggering _another_ seizure.” He firmly stated. Undyne clenched her jaw, her sharp teeth becoming more noticeable.

   “So she’s gonna die?” Sans spat out darkly. He was staring at the floor boards, his face hidden from the others.

   “Sans!” Toriel hissed, tears gathering in her eyes. She shot him a death glare.

   “…Her chances of surviving are slim. I would spend some time with her while you can…” The doctor answered.

   Toriel suddenly burst into heavy sobs upon hearing the news. Asgore too, had wept silently while quickly hiding his face. Papyrus felt a lump develop where his throat would be, as Undyne stood stupidly in shock beside him. Alphys’ head was bowed, her eyes watering, as she fought against tears of her own. Sans was angerly clenching and unclenching his fist, until finally he gave into the overwhelming sadness that consumed him.

  “I am deeply sorry.” The doctor had repeated much more quietly. He left the boss monsters alone as he went into the bathroom to wash up.

   Nobody said anything. Nobody dared to break the heavy atmosphere, each attending to their own thoughts and emotions. It wasn’t until Toriel had suddenly stopped crying that brought them back to reality.

   “ _You..!”_ She growled staring straight at Sans. She quickly and angrily marched up to the skeleton, his head still staring straight into the ground.

   “How could you let this happen Sans?! You were supposed to watch her! You were supposed to protect her!” She shouted. Sans physically flinched at her venomous tone not daring to lift his head and look at her.

   “Now she’s going to die! My child! Oh Stars!...” She whimpered, tears still streaming down her face.

   “How dare you..!” Papyrus piped up with as much intensity. He had orange tears brimming in his eye sockets waiting to be spilled at any moment.

   “How dare you blame Sans for this! He did all he could to protect Frisk. It’s unfair that you are blaming him for something he could not control!” He argued. Alphys and Asgore watched in shock at his attitude towards the Ex-queen.

   “I can’t believe you would actually imply that it was his fault. By that logic Toriel, maybe it’s your fault too!” He exploded. Toriel stood silent.

   “First it was Asgore with the first human child, and now it’s Sans with Frisk. Always ready to assign blame! Oh, but you’re completely innocent right? Poor helpless Toriel! She’s just a victim in this huh?”

   “Papyrus.” Undyne called out. The taller skeleton shut his mouth, and turned away from Toriel, unable to look at her. Now it was Toriel’s turn to look ashamed. Her anger towards Sans quickly faded and morphed into sorrow. Now it was uncomfortably silent.

   Sans finally picked his head up and slowly turned towards Toriel. His eye sockets were hollow, and his permanent smile was fixed into a weak grimace.

   **_“_ You’re not the only one hurting.”**

That sentence alone had held so much emotion hiding inside the skeleton. Hurt, anger, disappointment, fear…

   It was very much unlike Sans The Comic.

   “No…o-of course…I…Sans, I didn’t mean-“ Toriel slowly began.

   **“I get it. You’re hurt. You’re angry. I know. I think I can say that we all are.”** He replied while shooting a glance towards Papyrus who had significantly calmed down.

   **“I think it’s best if we stop arguing with each other and cherish every second we have until Frisk…Until…”** Sans stated, choking up towards the end. A light blue smoke emitted from his left eye producing a cyan pupil. Papyrus knew that look before.

   Sans was in a lot of deep pain for him to produce the Megalovania Eye at a time like this. The troubled look he held on his face was enough for them to cut through the growing tension of the atmosphere.

   “Sans…” Alphys started. She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, causing him to close his eyes and take a deep breath.

   Sans knew what she wanted to say. _“I know this is all a shock to you, but you have to change your eyes back to normal.”_

The scientist often told him not to use it, for the repercussions on his body were too dangerous for his health. But sometimes his emotions got the better of him, and _damn_ did this news hurt him deeply.

  **“I know…I’m…** I’m trying.” He said, voice switching back to normal. He took another deep breath and opened his eyes. The bright blue iris in his eye was gone, as both eyes returned to normal white pinpricks. Alphys gave him a small smile, as she patted him and took a few steps away from him, knowing that he was good.

“I’m…I’m sorry Toriel.” Papyrus finally spoke up, turning around to face her again. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I know that you were upset about Frisk…”

  “No, _I’m_ sorry Papyrus. And to you too Sans. To all of you…”Toriel insisted. “It’s not any of your fault. I was being unfair by blaming you, and that was very ignorant of me.” She admitted.

   “Apology accepted Tori.” Sans said sincerely. The apologies helped lighten the mood, but not by much. They still all held a solemn look on their faces, as they now realized the new reality of Frisk deteriorating health.

   “Come on.” Sans mumbled, motioning towards the staircase. “Let’s go see her.”

~---~

   As they huddled together in the small room, Frisk awoke from her sleep, beads of sweat still gathered at her forehead. Her eyes slowly fluttered open upon hearing the door swing close.

   “Hey Frisk.” Sans greeted. Frisk noticed the bittersweet smiles plastered on their faces.

   “Hey guys.” She rasped out, voice gravely. She was exhausted, and her muscles were aching. Despite the pain, she did her best to sit up in her bed. Papyrus walked over and helped move a pillow from behind her.

  “Thanks.” She mumbled.

   “How…how do you feel?” Asgore asked hesitantly.

   “I stopped throwing up finally.” She said happily. Her voice was quiet and weak, despite her statement. “But I feel like I’m boiling like the sun.” She admitted.

   They all nodded, showing that they understood.

   “...You guys don’t look too good. Maybe you should get some rest.” Frisk advised.

  Sans took a good look at the child before him. She certainly didn’t look good herself. Her skin was pale and clammy, and her breathing was uneven. She looked like she was suffering, but she hid it with a brave smile.

   “We’ll all get some rest as soon as we know you’re alright.” He said. Frisk hummed in reply.

   “Is there anything you need?” Alphys asked.

   “I think my cup is empty. Could I get some more cold water?” She asked quietly.

   “I’ll get it.” Undyne jumped in, grabbing the glass from her bedside and walking into the kitchen. She came back in just a few seconds. She sat down on the bed and held the glass for Frisk as she drank from the straw. She gulped a few times and waved her hand to show she was done.

   “Thanks.”

   Undyne got back up on her feet and stood near the rest of them. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Frisk spoke what had been on her mind since they entered.

   “I’m getting worse aren’t I?” She stated. They all didn’t reply, which only confirmed her answer. Frisk sighed heavily, leaning back into the pillows.

   “I’m dying aren’t I?”

   Still no answer, except a few sniffles coming from Toriel and Asgore.

   “So that’s why you’re all flocking around me?” Frisk added, laughing slightly. She didn’t know why she was laughing when they all looked so sad, but she needed the comic relief. She couldn’t stand seeing them so heartbroken, gathered around to pity her. She wanted them to know that it was going to be okay. No matter what happened.

   “Well, I don’t feel like I’m dying. I feel hot and sweaty…and a little tired…but, I don’t think I’m going anywhere anytime soon.” She said trying to lighten the mood. It worked, because the sniffling had stopped much to her surprise.

   “I do have to say…being bedridden is boring. Can I watch some TV?”

   Sans chuckled light heartedly at the request. Everyone else shot her a smile.

   “Sure kiddo. We’ll get you set up…”

~---~

   A few hours later, and Toriel had made more soup for all of them to eat, even offering some to Dr. Kline before he left.

   “I’m humbled Ms. Toriel, but I can’t accept this.” He began.

   “Of course you can. It’s the least I can offer for all the help you’ve been.”

   He eventually took the soup in a container and went on his way. He promised that he would be back tomorrow to check on Frisk bright and early at 9 am.

   Meanwhile, Asgore, Undyne, and Alphys had stopped by their houses to gather some supplies to spend the night. Asgore and Undyne claimed the couch while they insisted that the scientist sleep in the guestroom. That left Sans and Papyrus who were keeping Frisk entertained with some of her favorite movies on the TV screen in her room. The credits were rolling on the third movie, and the exhaustion was catching up to all three of them.

  “Love that movie.” Frisk rasped out. Her voice was getting weaker by the hour. Her eyes had dark circles under them, but she still maintained a slight smile.

   “What next?” Papyrus inquired.

   Frisk breathed in, closed her eyes and exhaled slowly through her nose.

   “..m’ tired.” She mumbled. The two skeletons shifted their eyes towards her in concern. They waited to see if she would say anything else before speaking.

   “Well then…go to sleep.” Sans offered. Frisk kept her eyes shut as she spoke.

   “Can’t.”

   “Why not?”

   Sans received another heavy sigh from Frisk. Slowly she opened her eyes, giving them a tired smile. Her vision was getting hazier by the second as beads of sweat trailed down her face. Sans put a hand against her cheek, pulling back immediately after feeling just how _warm_ she was. She was practically a heater at this point.

   “Frisk?”

   “Hm?”

   “You okay?”

   It was a dumb question, but he needed to know.

   “No.”

   Papyrus sat up attentively.

   “Need me to get Alphys?” He offered.

   Frisk thought to herself for a moment before replying.

   “Yes. I want to talk to her alone.”

~---~

   With both the skele-brothers gone, Frisk got her request of privacy with the scientist.

   “What’s wrong Frisk?” She worried. Frisk took a deep breath before speaking.

   “Alphys?”

   “Yes?”

   “I think it’s time. It’s getting close at least. I can feel it.” Frisk stated firmly. The reptile visibly whitened as she froze in her spot.

   “A-are you sure?” She stammered. In reality, Alphys was mentally preparing herself for this specific outcome. She just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

   “Positive. My vision’s getting blurry. I can hardly keep my eyes open, and I’m afraid that if I close them…I might now wake up.” She grimly answered.

   Tears gathered at the corner of the scientist’s eyes. She used her hand to wipe them away, feeling an overwhelming sense of grief crash over her.

   “I just wanted to say, that you are an excellent scientist and doctor. You saved me once before, and you did everything in your power to do it again. This isn’t your fault.” She started. Alphys nodded as the child continued. “I hope you reach all of your aspirations and become a successful scientist for human and monster kind. I have no doubts you can do it.”

   “Y-you’re a-always good for a s-smile Frisk.” Alphys sputtered out in between tears. She hugged the child as tightly as she could one final time as the tears poured down consistently.

   “Can you send Undyne in when you go downstairs?”

   “O-of course…”

~---~

   It didn’t take long for Undyne to make her way into the room. She held a solemn expression upon arrival.

   “Alphys was crying when she came downstairs.” She informed.

   “Yeah.”

   “I’m guessing…this is it huh..?”

   “Yeah.”

   Undyne drew in a quick sharp breath to compose herself. Her head shifted from side to side, trying to do everything in her power to contain her tears.

   “You can’t just- do this Frisk!” She snapped. “You can’t just make me love and care about you and leave!”

   “I’m sorry Undyne…but…” She trailed off, staring Undyne dead in the eye, the sickness and fatigue making the kid look ghostly. “I am so. Freaking. Tired.” She grunted. Undyne remained quiet.

   “We had some good times together…Going on that playdate…drinking tea…having cooking lessons…” Frisk listed. Undyne laughed at the memory of tomato sauce splattering all over Frisk’s face after she had pet it lovingly. She laughed and laughed until her bellows of laughter quickly morphed into slight sobs. She stopped herself as soon as she felt the tears brimming in her eye.

   “There you go again making me cry Frisk.” She sniffed, chuckling in between breaks.

   “I need you to motivate everyone okay? Show everyone that life doesn’t have to stop just because mine’s did. Tell them to live their life up here on the surface to the fullest, because that’s what I would have wanted. Okay?”

   When she was done speaking, she sounded winded.

   Undyne nodded furiously.

   “Okay.” She croaked out. Instead of hugging her like Alphys did, she held out a closed fist, fist-bumping with Frisk one final time before stepping out and sending Asgore.

~---~

   The King bore a dread-filled look when he entered the room.

   “Hello Frisk.”

   Frisk did not immediately reply, for she had to cough and clear her throat. The room felt stuffy, and it was getting harder for her to breath. Asgore had noticed the discomfort and he leaned over to wipe the sweat from her brow.

   “Thank you.” She managed. She waited for Asgore to settle back down on the bed, causing the mattress to dip in the newly added weight.

   “Your majesty…” Frisk began. Asgore swallowed thickly at the sentence. “It has been a pleasure working with you as ambassador of monsters. I want you to continue representing monster kind, and maintaining peace to the best of your abilities.”

   “o-of course Frisk. Thank you for freeing us from the underground. Your determination won’t be forgotten.” He accepted, voice shaking with fat tears falling from his face.

   _“Asgore.”_

Frisk ignored the sudden outburst from Chara. Instead, she leaned in and hugged the King as tightly as she could. Asgore returned the gesture by wrapping his large heavy arms around her protectively.

   “It never gets easier.” He whispered.

   Frisk shut her eyes and nodded.

   “I know.”

   As they hugged, Frisk heard a sniffle. One that didn’t come from the king.

   Again, she did her best to leave the anomaly alone.

~---~

   Toriel was next to enter. She sat down on the bed next to Frisk, noticing her ragged breathing. Frisk felt like she hadn’t slept in fifty years, as an overwhelming amount of fatigue washed over her body like an ocean wave. Toriel already had tears brimming in her eyes, but she gave Frisk a small gentle smile for reassurance.

   “Mom.” Frisk squeaked. Her voice was weaker than when she had spoken to Asgore. Her time was running out. As much as she wanted to just close her eyes and let everything go, she still had to say goodbye to two other people after Toriel. She held onto whatever shred of determination she had left, trying to get through the next few minutes.

   Toriel blinked back tears as she gently placed her hand next to Frisk’s head, cupping her cheek and stroking her thumb over it soothingly.

   “Don’t cry mom.” Frisk softly said. “It’s gonna be okay.” She added.

   “…Oh, my child….my sweet darling little angel….” Toriel shuddered. “How can I lose you too?”

   Frisk wasn’t sure how to reply to that. She didn’t know so she simply let her cry in front of her. Her words unable to offer solace.

   “I’m sorry mom. I’m sorry you have to go through this…” Frisk apologized. She wanted to cry with her, but she didn’t have the energy.

   “But I promise that’ll be okay. You won’t be alone this time. You’ll have people to lean on. You won’t have to burden it alone.” She explained. Toriel nodded slowly.

   “I don’t want you to be sad Mom. I want you to be happy and remember me for the good things I’ve done for the Underground. Can you do that for me?” Frisk asked.

   Toriel nodded again, not trusting her voice. She sniffed as she caringly tucked Frisk’s hair behind her ear, noticing the unnatural heat emitting off the child.

   “Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for showing me what a real mom is supposed to be like.”

  “I love you Frisk.” Toriel said, voice wavering.

   “I love you too.”

   And with that, they embraced each other for minutes, not daring to let go. When Frisk felt her heavy eyes closing, she had to let go, as she watched her adoptive mother leave her one final time.

~---~

   Papyrus came in not soon after her painful encounter with Toriel. He sat next to her, a nervous melancholic smile on his features. That was Papyrus for you. Always, always smiling.

   “Is it my turn to say goodbye?” He asked bluntly. Frisk nodded. She rested her eyes as she spoke.

   “Papyrus. You were the first established friendship I had during my time in the underground.” She began. “You helped me stay positive and cheerful. Even now. Why? What makes you do that?” She wondered.

   “Well…someone has to. I’ve seen enough sadness in my life. The world needs some goodness too.” He answered promptly. Frisk smiled at his genuine answer.

   “Don’t _you_ ever get sad?” She questioned. Papyrus hesitated before answering.

   “Of course I get sad Frisk.” He said in a serious tone. It was such a surprise that Frisk opened her eyes to meet his gaze.

   “It gets rough. It was rough in the underground and it’s rough now. I don’t want you to go. When you had tried to kill yourself, I was terrified. I did everything I could to save you, and it worked. Now this time…it’s not. It’s scary to lose someone you love so much right before your very eyes.” He confessed.

   “But!” He quickly interrupted. “I know that everyone else is going to be upset as well. My job right now is to be hopeful and encourage everyone else to be positive. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I will sure do my best. I’m…I’m going to miss you human.” He admitted.

   “Me too.”

   Orange tears gathered at the corners of his hollow eyes as he laughed bitterly.

   “You better.”

   He quickly wiped the tears away with his gloved hand.

   “Papyrus?” Frisk called out.

   “Yes Frisk?”

   “Please take care of your brother while I’m gone. I don’t know if he’ll be okay after I pass.” Frisk softly stated. Papyrus nodded.

   “Of course Frisk. I’ll watch over him. I promise.”

~---~

   With five boss monsters spoken to and only a short amount of time remaining, that only left one monster to speak to.

   Sans.

   The door opened slowly, as he stepped quietly in the room. Frisk patted the bed next to her, now unable to pull herself into a sitting position. Sans slowly sat on the edge of the bed next to her, not saying a word.

   “Hey Sans.” Frisk greeted weakly.

   “Hey kid.” He replied after sighing heavily.

   “Here we are.” Frisk stated. Sans nodded grimly.

  “Yup…Here we are.” He repeated.

   “You’re the last person Sans. I’m almost out of time.” She began. Sans furiously shook his head, eyes watering with emotion.

   “No, no, no, no. Don’t talk like that.” He denied.

   “Sans-“

   “No, there’s no way. No way I’m losing you. After all we’ve been through! After all the hardships we endured?!” He exclaimed.

   “Sans.” Frisk firmly said. He shut his mouth and took a deep breath.

   “What?” He growled, eye lights disappearing as anguish took over his facial features. For once, Frisk didn’t feel threatened or frightened by the action.

   “You and I both know that this is it. My luck ran out.” She gently explained.

   “How can you say that like you’ve just given up?” He said, voice shaking. Frisk leaned her head back and closed her eyes momentarily. She took a few deep breathes in.

   “Because I’m tired. I am so. Tired.” She murmured. “I can’t fight it anymore Sans. I have been fighting it since 3 am. I am tired. I’m done.”

   “…But-“

   “No.”

   “…But…Come on kid! You can’t die! **_Please!_** ” Sans begged. **“What if you Rese-“**

“ _NO.”_ Frisk hissed. “You told me not to do that Sans.” She reminded.

   “ **I know! I know, Stars, I know! But- fuck, kid! I can’t deal with this! Load a save point then!”**

“ _I can’t_ Sans! You know that I can only do that if I die from unnatural causes.”

   “ **Kid, I am personally giving you permission to use the Reset button.”**

“Sans, I can’t. Take everyone’s freedom and stick everyone back into the underground like this all didn’t happen? Months and months of progress and work down the drain? I can’t do that. And besides…You know that when I Reset, I’ll lose my memories from this timeline. What if I’m a completely different person after that? What if I do another genocide run?!”

   That got Sans to shut up. He shook his head immediately trying to get rid of the invading thoughts.

   **“It won’t come to that. I can help you remember just like you remembered now.”** He offered. Frisk shook her head no.

   “No Sans. I won’t risk it. I don’t want to do all of that again. Befriend everyone all over again just to get them out. It’s not fair. I won’t do it.” She decided. That left him in pure silence. He knew it was selfish and wrong but he didn’t want Frisk to die like this. He didn’t want her to leave him. In the end, Sans knew that she was making the right choice, even if his heart disagreed with it.

   **“…You’re right. I’m sorry. The least I could do is honor your wishes.”** He admitted. Frisk slowly relaxed at the statement, sinking lower into her bed, engulfed by her pillows. She smiled softly.

   “Sans?”

   **“Yeah?”**

“I’m scared too…For a while, I always dreamed about death. Always wanted it to happen…” She mumbled. She took a minute to catch her shallow breath. “But now that it’s actually happening…I’m scared.”

   Sans looked at the child with pity. Of course it would make sense for Frisk to be scared. Hell, she had every right to be. The skeleton kept quiet, as he slowly leaned in and scooped up the child in his arms, cradling her protectively. It seemed to comfort her, as she leaned into his touch, resting her head against his chest.

   **“It’ll be okay.”** Sans cooed. Whether he was saying it for Frisk or himself, he wasn’t sure. Again, Frisk rested her eyes, smile becoming more peaceful at the sentiment.

   “…You know…ever since my real dad died in the accident…I vowed that I would never let myself get close to another parental figure like him…” Frisk trailed off. Sans looked down at the sick child, eye lights glowing brightly, unsure of where the conversation was going.

   “And here you are. Holding me and comforting me even through death. I guess I just can’t tell my heart no when I see you as my dad…”

   And at that exact moment, Sans’ eyes dilated in surprise. A mixture of shock and overwhelming pride hit him hard. He couldn’t control the choking sound he made, causing Frisk to chuckle lightly. Tears were now forming in both of her eyes, as Sans took a moment to process what had just happened.

   Frisk had just confirmed Sans as a father figure.

   A father figure.

   _A father figure._

He kept repeating it over and over in his head, the more he repeated it, the more his soul thumped with joy. He smiled for the first time in hours, giving Frisk a new sense of relief.

   **“Wow…I…heh…I don’t know what to say.”** He truthfully said. **“I think of you as my own kid too Frisk.”**

   Frisk smiled faintly. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open.

   “I’m glad.” She whispered. Her voice was getting weaker. Despite this, she swallowed and cleared her throat.

   They stood there in each other’s company, not daring to ruin the moment. As Sans’ mind raced with a million thoughts, the reality that Frisk was going to die hit him hard. He knew it was happening, but he hadn’t fully registered what that meant.

   **“You picked a hell of a time to tell me this.”** He laughed bitterly. Frisk sighed.

   “I know. It’s cruel of me but…I had to tell you. I want you to know that before I go.” She clarified. Sans simply nodded, leaning against the wall, with Frisk still in his arms.

   Soon, he wouldn’t be able to hold her like this again. He won’t be able to go to Grillby’s or prank Papyrus with her. He won’t ever be able to babysit her again. Won’t ever have to pick her up from school. Won’t ever get another phone call from her. Won’t ever get to hear her laugh again. Or comb through her knotted hair when she needed help. Or take long naps with her. Or serve breakfast to her. He will never again guide her through life. Won’t make it passed graduation. Or be there to comfort him when he had a bad nightmare. He won’t hear never ending questions about monster history, and his time in the underground. Even simple things like how monster food works, and why his body moves when he exhales despite the lack of lungs. No more snow days, and bedtime stories with her. No more drawing contests. Or card games. No more tickle fights.

   No more.

   As if Sans wasn’t miserable enough. The heartbreak was only getting worse.

   “Sans?”

   Frisk’s voice snapped him out of his depressive thoughts. Bright blue tears had developed at the corners of his eyes. He quickly wiped them with his jacket sleeve and cleared his throat to get rid of the trembling that snuck its way in his voice.

   **“Yeah kid?”** He softly replied.

   “Do you…Do you think you can sing for me again...?” She pleaded kindly. Sans brushed a few stray hairs away from her forehead.

   **“Sure thing kiddo…Anything for you…”** He accepted. Frisk beamed, slowly closing her eyes and focusing on his voice. Sans stared down at her pale face. Despite how ill she looked, Frisk kept the smile on her face. Sans continued ruffling her straight brown hair, as he began to sing a lullaby to her.

_“Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes…And save these questions for another day…”_

His voice was slow and melodic.

   _“I think I know what you’ve been asking me…I think I know what you’ve been trying to say…”_

   Frisk began taking slow deep breaths of satisfaction.

   _“I promised I would never leave you…And you should always know…Wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away…”_

Her breathing became shallow suddenly, and Sans couldn’t help but worry. He chose to ignore it, focusing on keeping Frisk calm and happy.

   _“Goodnight my angel, now it’s time to sleep…And still so many things I want to say…”_

Much to Sans’ delight, her breathing evened out, returning to normal.

   _“Remember all the songs you sang for me, when we went sailing on an emerald bay…”_

Sans wrapped up the soothing lullaby with a final verse.

   _“And like a boat out on the ocean, I’m rocking you to sleep…The water’s dark and deep, inside this ancient heart, you’ll always be a part of me…”_

   When Sans had finished, he looked down at the child in his arms. She made no sound. No movement at all. Her chest was no longer falling and rising with each breath.

   **“…Kid?”**

No response. Sans shifted his hold on her to get her in a sitting position. Her arms and body dangled limply from his hold.

   **“Baby bones?”**

Her temperature was quickly dropping. Sans shook her with a little more force. Still no reply.

   **“Frisk?...Frisk?...Please no….I can’t…No, no, no…Don’t leave me…don’t..”** Sans begged, breaking down into heavy sobs. He pulled the dead child in his arms, hugging her body tightly.

   **“You can’t…you can’t…”**

  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, there we have it! I finally finished this behemoth of a chapter. In my last end notes section I mentioned posting two chapters back to back, but instead I decided to just squish them all into one giant chapter. So here we are with 14 pages of misery and suffering. (Bonus points to the reader who knows where the lullaby came from!) Next chapter will be just as angst ridden as this one. As usual, thank you for reading my story, and I'll be posting again soon. Stay awesome!  
> ~CB


	34. Settled

   The funeral was just as grim and depressing as expected. The loss of a life is a tragic event no matter what the circumstances are, but for it to be a child’s life loss, it only made it more heartbreaking. Word spread like wild fire in the community and the entire monster population had eventually heard about Frisk’s passing. Not just monsters, but people too. Mrs. Dodd, Mrs. Park, and Ethan also came to the funeral, along with her few friends Damion, Allison, Zeke, and Eden. Some people from the town meetings showed up and offered their condolences, along with some neighborhood friends who also heard the news.

   The ceremony itself was held two days after her death on Saturday. Dr. Kline had been so helpful as to help Toriel and Sans find a person to arrange the funeral plans. It was an open casket, with Frisk’s body on display dressed in all white, with a bouquet of golden flowers in her hands.  She looked peaceful. Truly at rest.

   A few people had said a few words about Frisk’s passing as the sobs and crying of men, women, and creatures alike blended together into a symphony of grief. After they had said their final thoughts and goodbyes, they had closed the casket, and a team of people transferred her body to the nearby cemetery. It was a bit chilly outside, but otherwise sunny without a cloud in sight. Sans wanted to curse at the sky and the heavens above for such cheerful weather on such a sad day. When the closed coffin was brought out again, they carried her to her plot of land, and gently lowered it into the already dug out hole. Then, after what felt like centuries, they began to burry the coffin. When the hole was filled up, they all stood there for a few more moments of silence. Her gravestone read, “Frisk Dreemurr. Angel of the Underground.”

   Slowly, everyone had decided to head home. After Sans had placed some more flowers on grave, his eyes bored into her tombstone. They were completely void of life- an expression he had been baring often, ever since her death.

   He felt an unexpected gloved hand being placed over his shoulder.

   “Come on Sans. It’s getting late...” Papyrus stated gently. Sans simply nodded robotically and followed his brother into the car back home.

~---~

   A week had passed since Frisk’s sudden death, and Sans was no longer in shock. Now, he was breaking down. Papyrus tried his best to fulfill Frisk’s wish of taking care of him, but there was only so much that he could do to help him. His worst fear had come true-

   Sans was relapsing.

   As if it weren’t hard enough to cope with the child’s death; now he had to rescue his brother from self-destruction.

   Again.

   He began to isolate himself. He didn’t want to see anyone. He couldn’t stand to look at Toriel in the eye after what happened. Papyrus could hear him crying himself to sleep at night. The walls were so thin. How could he not?

   Along with alienating himself, he would teleport to Grillby’s more often than usual. Normally, this wouldn’t have worried Papyrus, but when Sans started coming home at odd hours in the middle of the night faintly smelling of ketchup and alcohol, he started to worry.

   Sans used to drink a lot during their time underground. He tried not to, but when he was in one of his depressive moods, he would drink to numb the pain. He couldn’t keep track of how many times Grillby had to call Papyrus to come pick up his drunk and unconscious brother at the bar.

   Despite Sans going to Grillby’s every other chance he got, he knew his brother hadn’t eaten a real meal in days. Even though they were both skeletons and technically didn’t have to eat food to survive, it was still concerning- especially for a monster with only 1 HP.

   Papyrus rapped on his brother’s door.

   “Sans?” He called out. There was no reply. “Sans, please. Come out…Come downstairs and have dinner with us.” He offered. Still no sound. Papyrus refused to leave however. He felt tears brimming in his eyes as his promise to Frisk kept replaying in his head.

   “Brother… _Please._ We’re all worried about you. We haven’t seen you in days.” He begged, voice wavering slightly. Suddenly he heard slow footsteps approaching the door. Much to his surprise, the door had swung open, revealing a disheveled Sans in the doorway. His room was dark and messy-much more than usual at least.

   “C’mon Paps. You don’t need to start cryin’ about it.” Sans mumbled. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket, dark circles highlighting at the bottom of his eye sockets like a gray shadow.

   Papyrus didn’t bother wiping his tears. At this point, they’ve all done their fair share of crying in public so there wasn’t any point in hiding it.

   “Please. Come out of your room. We miss you…” Papyrus pleaded. Sans shook his head no.

   “I can’t.” He simply replied.

   “Why not?” Papyrus pressed.

   “Because Pap-“ Sans cut off, as his left eye blinked with a weak cyan light. **“I-I can’t go down there and see the pain in all of your eyes. In Toriel’s eyes…”** He trailed off. Tears of his own were also streaming down his cheek bones as he spoke.

   “Sans, we’ve talked about this. Frisk’s death wasn’t your fault-“

   **“No, but I sure could’ve done a hell of a lot more than what I did during that snow storm! I should’ve caught on sooner that she might’ve been walking home! As her guardian, I was supposed to make sure that nothing bad would happen to her! Now look! _She’s gone._ ” **

   The smoke emitting from his eye was starting to burn his eye socket. Papyrus decided, that his brother needed a private heart to heart, and he entered his room to speak with him without the others hearing.

   “It’s not. Your. Fault.” Papyrus firmly stated. He kneeled onto the floor, so he could maintain better eye contact with his brother without their height difference getting in the way. “I know that if Frisk were here, she’d tell us it isn’t our fault. Because it’s not. And to also take care of ourselves too. Speaking of which, when was the last time you had a full night’s rest?” He inquired.

   The smoke quickly died out at the personal question. Sans wished that he hadn’t let Papyrus in now. He couldn’t run away to Grillby’s because he knew his brother would just wait for him here until he got back.

  “I-I don’t know…” He admitted.

   “When was the last time you ate? And I don’t mean Grillby’s, Sans. I mean real food.” Papyrus interrogated.

   “I don’t know.”

   “When was the last time you actually talked to someone in this house?”

   Sans shifted his gaze, looking anywhere but his brother’s face.

   Suddenly, Papyrus reached for Sans’ zipper on his jacket and swiftly tugged it downwards.

   “Hey, hey! What’re you doing?” Sans asked.

   “Take off the jacket.” Papyrus demanded. Any anger that Sans had showed had vanished into thin air. Instead it had been fully replaced with panic.

  “Wh-what? Why?”

   “You’re relapsing Sans and I’m worried that you’re hiding something else from me. Take off the jacket.”

   Sans grunted as he slowly obliged to his brother’s orders. He threw the jacket off his shoulders into a heap on his mattress, his arms completely bare.

   “Let me see them.”

   Sans willingly gave up his arms for Papyrus to inspect. He looked over them with caution, searching for any signs of injury. Nothing besides the pre-existing cracks were there much to his relief.

   “Good.” Papyrus sighed. Sans gave him a weak smile.

   “See bro? I’m good.” Sans said already glancing towards his jacket waiting to cover himself up again.

   “Wait, we’re not done here. I want to see your soul too.”

   Sans froze.

   “H…heh…You never said anything about looking at the soul bro.” He nervously laughed. Any sense of relief that Papyrus briefly experienced was thrown out the window at the sudden change of Sans’ demeanor.

   “Let me see it.” He said sternly.

   “No.”

   “Let me see it!” Papyrus repeated more forcefully while he made a grab to lift his white T-shirt. Sans quickly pulled down to hide it, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck as his eye lights shrank in panic.

   “Brother _! Let. Me. See. It!”_

   “No!” Sans denied.

   “Fine, then I guess we’ll do this the hard way then!”

   All color surrounding them faded into black and white, as Papyrus called out Sans’ soul. In between the brief flickers of darkness, he caught a glimpse of the smaller skeleton’s soul.

   In those few seconds he could see many dark cracks woven into the monster’s heart. When the flickering stopped, and he could no longer see it, Papyrus just stood there in shock.

   “W…what…was that..?” He asked in a low voice. When Sans didn’t reply, he quickly checked his stats.

   **.8/.8 HP**

Papyrus gasped in horror. His HP went down _again._ He didn’t even know it was possible for Sans’ stats to fall in such a precarious position. His brother’s overall health was in the _decimal places._

   Papyrus felt burning orange tears stream down his face. He promptly spared Sans, ending the battle as all color around them returned to normal.

   “I told you not to look.” Sans mumbled. Papyrus was shaking in his spot. He knew that he was hiding something. He just wished now that he was wrong.

   “Let me see it. Please Sans.” He begged, voice barely above a whisper. With nothing to hide, Sans let his soul roam free from within his rib cage. He lifted his shirt and let his fragile soul float out into Papyrus’ gloved hands.

   The cracks were far worse than he thought. They were dark, and they curved around and split into more paths around the heart. The bright white glow it was supposed to be emitting was no longer present either. Instead, Sans’ soul barely radiated off a flicker of light.

   “S-stars,” Papyrus shuddered. Sans looked away from his brother, unable to look him in the eye again. “You call this fine? Sans, look at it! It looks terrible- in fact it’s almost enough for me to take you to Alphys right now.” He bluntly stated.

   “I had no idea. N-no idea that this whole ordeal with Frisk has started to impact your HP. God…”

   “Papyrus it’s-“

   “No, it’s not okay Sans. You don’t even have one HP anymore. You’re literally one touch away from becoming dust. I-I mean, we’ve already lost Frisk-“ Papyrus said getting choked up.

   “I can’t lose you too. You mean too much to me. I can’t allow that to happen.”

   A lump developed in Sans’ throat.

   “I know you’re in deep pain Sans. You don’t have to hide it. Now is the time where we lean on each other because we need it more than ever. To think that your pain is so immense that it’s killing you is frightening. It’s _horrifying._ ” Papyrus corrected, placing his shoulders on his brother.

   “Look at me Sans.” Papyrus faintly said. He did so.

   “We’ll get through this. These last few weeks have been so horrible…Hell, it’s been nightmarish,” Papyrus said. Sans stiffened at his use of language, but quickly forgot when he found himself enveloped by his brother’s embrace. “But we’ve gone through tough times before. We can do it again. You aren’t alone brother. _You aren’t alone_. I’m here. Undyne’s here. Alphys, Asgore, Toriel- we’re all here for you. I’m sorry that you’ve suffered this much already. Please brother…Come downstairs with us. We’ll get through this, but you must stay with me. I’m not just going to let you destroy yourself in this room. Frisk told me she wanted me to take care of you and by Stars, that’s what I’m going to do.”

   Sans began to shake uncontrollably, as his body became wracked with heavy sobs. He tightened his hold on his brother, burying his face in his vibrant red scarf.

   “I-I’m sorry Papyrus. I-I’m sorry I’m like this…” Sans cried.

   “What are you apologizing for you bonehead?” Papyrus laughed melancholically. Magical tears of his own dripped onto his brother’s clothing.

   “We’ll get through this Sans. Just hang in there.”

~---~

    A few more days had passed since then, and if Sans were honest, he felt like it wasn’t getting any easier. Of course his brother had told Alphys about the worsening condition of Sans’ soul, resulting in frequent checkups from the both of them. There was nothing she could do to improve it however. Once a monster’s overall HP had lowered, it was impossible to gain it back. The monster’s emotional state effects their soul very closely. A happy monster meant a healthy monster, but in Sans’ case, he was absolutely miserable. His soul was reflecting that.

      If he wasn’t treated like glass before, he sure felt it now. Papyrus had begged him not to drink anymore because the risks of getting drunk and unstable further put his health in danger. He decided to give in to his pleas and decided to stay away from the alcohol again. As much as he wanted to fade away and never have to feel the heavy burden of grief, he had to put up with it so that he wouldn’t accidentally turn to dust.

   Right now, the skeleton was lying on the couch, his legs hanging casually off the arm rest as he stared at the cracks in the ceiling, counting them for the fiftieth time. Usually the TV would have been on to provide some sort of background noise, but after Frisk had died, he hadn’t so much as even glanced at the TV remote.

   He thought back to the times where they both sat there in each other’s company. The day where Sans had comforted her while she was shaking, recalling her memories of being beaten from past abuse. How he held her until she calmed down and they both fell asleep. How they had played eye spy and drew pictures of each other. How he had combed her hair when she asked him to. How tiny she was when he fell asleep beside him when she had a nightmare.

   Sans felt hot tears trickle down the sides of his face. He clenched his teeth and covered his eyes with his arm in shame. A choked-out sob escaped his mouth, followed by a pitiful whimper.

   Stars, she didn’t deserve to die. She was just a kid! A kid who had experienced far more than any child should. A dead father, abusive mother. Self-harm and suicidal tendencies. Unforgiving humans and anti-monster groups. The world was cruel to her. It wasn’t fair.

   She was robbed of any chance of leading a more happier life.

   Another heavy sob came from Sans. He was glad that nobody was downstairs to hear him.

   **“God, kid…Why’d you have to leave us so soon..?”** He asked towards the sky. **“I miss you so much kid. Please….Please, please…I just want to hear your voice again. PLEASE. I-I don’t know how the afterlife works but Stars above, I want you to listen to me Frisk.”**

   He sat up on the couch, yelling at nothing but the air surrounding him.

   **“Reset. Please. I am begging you! I-I know you said you wouldn’t do it but, everyone is fucking miserable without you. _Please. PLEASE._ Reset…Reset! I don’t care anymore. Please kiddo….please…”** He pleaded. He waited.

   But nothing happened.

   He didn’t know what he expected to be honest. He hoped that maybe his pitiful begging had somehow reached Frisk’s spirit or whatever. It was pointless anyways. The child was gone, and it was foolish to think that she would hear him and change her mind.

    Sans collapsed back into a hiccupping mess on the couch, curling up into a ball, giving up on trying to communicate with her. He heard frantic footsteps stomping down the stairs, Papyrus drawing closer to him in worry.

   “Brother..? Come on Sans…Please don’t cry…It’s alright…Shhhhh…” Papyrus cooed sitting down next to him on the couch. He rubbed his back trying to give him solace for his mourning. Sans was having none of it though. He snapped his fingers and in an instant teleported himself onto his bed inside his room. He used his blue magic to lock the door, before he turned away and pulled his hood over his face, hiding away from the world.

   More footsteps were heard, followed by quick hard knocking on his door.

   “Sans? Please unlock the door. You don’t have to be alone. I’m here brother. It’s alright. I’m here for you.” Papyrus assured. Sans didn’t bother replying. What Papyrus didn’t understand was that sometimes he wanted to be alone. He wasn’t used to be surrounded and coddled all the time. It was suffocating. He just needed some time by himself to get the crying out of his system.

   After a few more moments of silence, he felt exhaustion take over his body. He had a hard time recalling when he last slept. Some sleep sounded good right about now. Forget everything that was causing him pain. Even if it was just for a few hours.

   When Papyrus heard his brother’s crying die down, he felt a little twinge of relief. At least it was stopping. Perhaps it was best to leave Sans alone this time? He’d talk to him when he felt ready.

   And so it was decided.

   “…If you want to be alone, that’s fine. Just know that if you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”

   Slowly, he stepped away from the door and walked away. Sans heard his receding footsteps and tugged harder on his hood. It was harder to fight his fatigue, as he felt his eyes grow heavy. He shut them, letting sleep wash over his consciousness, giving in to the darkness surrounding him.

~---~

 

  _“Don’t even think about it Frisk. Move on.”_

_“Look at him! He’s getting worse. I didn’t know that his HP would go down because of my death..!”_

_“Doesn’t matter. Don’t you dare bring him here.”_

_“But Chara-“_

_“NO. Enough is enough. You told him you aren’t resetting and that’s that.”_

_“I know, but he’s seriously getting hurt. I have to talk to him at least.”_

_“…Don’t let him convince you to reset. It’s incredibly selfish…”_

_~---~_

Sans was surrounded by total darkness. Did he fall asleep? He must have for him to end up in a void like this. Unless of course he died, but he highly doubted it. He knew his health was diminishing but he at least felt like he wasn’t weak enough to die accidentally in his sleep.

   _“Sans.”_

He stiffened at the familiar voice. No. No way. That couldn’t be. He slowly turned his head to meet the direction from which it came from.

Appearing in front of him, sitting on the floor, was a ghostly version of Frisk. She glowed in the darkness, her entire body translucent.

   A shaky gasp left Sans’ mouth as his eye lights shrank in surprise. He was in total shock. When he finally came to his senses, he ran to her, his arms outstretched, desperate to make contact with her. When he was mere inches away, he wrapped his arms around her, only to find that his arms had phased through her body with ease.

   _“Sorry. You can’t really hug me when I’m just a spirit.”_

Sans was disappointed, but nonetheless still glad to have Frisk speaking to him in front of his very eyes. Even if he couldn’t hug and hold her close like he wanted. He decided to settle with sitting down on the floor next to her.

   “Heh…still pretty amazing that I’m talking to you right now.” He said, feeling joyful tears brim in his eyes. He sniffed and wiped them away. “I miss you so damn much…”

   _“I can see that. I’ve been watching over you since I died. You aren’t doing too good Sans.”_ Frisk gently stated. Sans sighed.

   “That’s an understatement…” He mumbled. “Life has become a living hell.”

   _“…Your HP went down to .8.”_ She brought up.

   “Yeah.”

   _“That’s not good Sans. You’re in real danger.”_

“I don’t really care anymore. If it weren’t for Papyrus, I would have offed myself a long time ago.”

   Frisk frowned in displeasure.

   _“Don’t say that.”_

“Well, it’s the hard truth kid.” Sans replied bluntly. They both went silent after that. Sans hated the worried look on Frisk’s face after he said that.

   “Why don’t you want to reset..?” Sans asked again.

   _“Because we’ve come so far. We brought everyone up on the surface. The monster population deserves to be free. On top of that…I…I’m afraid that I might start another genocide run again.”_

“You won’t. I’ll help you. I’ll do everything I can to help you remember this timeline after your reset.” Sans offered. Frisk shook her head.

   _“It still isn’t right.”_

   “What- and **you think THIS IS?!”** Sans exploded. Frisk flinched at his raised voice, but Sans ignored it in his fit of rage.

   **“What makes you think that we’re all hunky dory right now?! News flash kid- _we’re not!_ We’re constantly harassed and looked down upon other humans. _We don’t fit in._ We lost our closest human friend who kept peace between our races. You think everything is peachy when the media is telling the other humans that us monsters put you at risk?! That we neglected you and couldn’t take care of you, and that that’s the reason you’re dead?! Our happily ever after was ruined when you passed away!...Nothing’s the same! No one’s the same! We’re upset. We’re hurting. So, so, _so much._ ” **

“…It’ll pass.” Frisk tried to reassure, only to be cut off by Sans again.

   **“Will it?! Will it _really_? Because it’s been almost two weeks, and I can assure you that it has _not_ gotten better…I-It’s only gotten _worse_.”**

Sans was crying again, and Frisk wished she could have reached out and hugged him. Instead she decided to sit closer to him, her legs folded and tucked underneath her. She thought to herself for a moment, as Sans took a few minutes to calm down and pull himself together.

   **“I’m sorry….** I’m so sorry…I-I’m just a mess right now. I’m sorry for shouting at you. I know t-this isn’t your fault and I’m just acting like a big asshole right now. I’m sorry. I-I’m being really selfish and-“

   _“Sans.”_ Frisk calmly called out to him. He stopped his blubbering and listened.

 _“I’m sorry too. I was so sure that I was doing the right thing here, but now…I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I’ve made the wrong choice. I hate seeing you in so much pain. In fact, I feel terrible that your grief is slowly draining your life away. I think…”_ She trailed off. _“…I don’t know. I have to think about this before I say anything.”_

Sans wiped his tears on his jacket sleeve.

   With that, Frisk got up from her spot, turning away from Sans.

   “Hey…w-wait…” He whispered. She halted her movements. “Y…you can’t go…please.”

   Frisk turned around, meeting him with a bittersweet smile.

   “ _Well **I’m** not leaving the void. But you Sans…”_ She drifted off _. “You have a life to live, and a brother to get back to.”_

Sans had a lost for words as Frisk began to slowly part ways with him. There was a gap forming between them, like the optical illusion of getting swept away by an ocean wave. As each second passed, the distance grew, and Frisk grew farther out of reach.

   _“I love you dad. Take care of yourself.”_

Sans’ eyes widened in panic.

   “No, no, w-wait! I’m not ready!” He shouted. Frisk sorrowfully waved goodbye, as darkness flooded Sans’ vision. It was only then did he realize just how cold and terrifying the void was. His body started going numb, and it felt like he was sinking through quicksand.

   “I’m not ready **! I don’t want to go back! No!”** He refused, trying to get his bearings. It was increasingly difficult to breathe, almost like the darkness was suffocating him. He felt like he was drowning in molasses.

   **“Frisk no! Frisk! FRISK!”**

“Shhh! It’s okay Sans! It’s alright- I’ve got you.”

   Just as quickly as the encounter with Frisk happened, it was over. Now he found himself being awoken by Papyrus in his own bed. Sans felt an overwhelming sense of vertigo from the spiritual trip he took, and he quickly pushed his brother away just in case he decided to throw up.

   His breathing was short and shallow, so he took a moment to catch it in Papyrus’ silence. When he finally calmed down, he felt more tears form in his sockets. God, he was always crying wasn’t he?

   “Papyrus…I…Oh man…”He hiccupped. Papyrus hugged him tightly to comfort his distressed brother despite him pushing him away seconds earlier.

   “Shhhh…it’s alright….It’s going to be alright…”

   “I s-saw her. I saw her i-in my d-dreams.” He choked out.

~---~

   _“I told you not to let him convince you.”_

_“But he’s right-“_

_“No! He’s just selfish. And you are too if you go through with this.”_

_“Chara…everyone is miserable. Sans is dying because his soul couldn’t-“_

_“What? Couldn’t handle you being dead?!”_

_“…”_

_“What will you solve? Your body may not handle another round back in the Underground. You won’t even remember them.”_

_“And they won’t remember me.”_

_“…”_

_“Don’t you see Chara? If nobody else except Sans will remember what it was like on the surface, then it won’t hurt them in the long run.”_

_“Not unless you lose control of yourself and murder everyone again like in the last timeline!”_

_“…You helped me kill them too Chara!”_

   _“YOU STARTED IT. You were all doing it on your own free will until we got to the stupid judgement hall. It was only then you started to chicken out that I stepped in.”_

   _“You could have stepped in and stopped it at that point.”_

   _“Oh of course. Why didn’t I step in when I watched you kill my mother? Hmm, gee, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m imprisoned in this cursed body of yours and I had no choice but to sit back and watch. The only way I could have possibly kept my mental stability was if I convinced myself that what you were doing was fair and well deserved. Not just a sick twisted version of what ‘fun’ was._ _I can’t just take control of your body whenever the hell I please. Don’t you think I would have tried it by now? In fact, the only reason you could communicate with me while you were alive was because you were low on determination. If your determination dropped low enough, I could have taken over.”_

   _“…Well…why didn’t you? I’m sure my determination was running really short during my…uh…attempt.”_

   _“I wasn’t strong enough. You were injuring yourself, and therefore injuring me. Besides, you seemed pretty determined on ending your life anyways.”_

   _“…”_

   _“Sorry did I hurt your feelings? Tch. Pathetic.”_

   “…”

   _“Do what you must Frisk. Just know that I’m not one bit pleased by your decision. Not one. Bit.”_

   _“…What if…What if we tried to save him?”_

   _“Who?”_

   _“Asriel.”_

   _“Don’t. Say. His name. He was pathetic too. We’re all pathetic…”_

   _“Come one Chara. I know deep down within your own heart, you wanted to save him too.”_

   _“You can’t save everyone Frisk.”_

    _“But we can try.”_

   _“We did try.”_

   _“Then we’ll try again until I know for sure that we exhausted our options.”_

   _“…”_

   _“Sound good?”_

   _“Whatever. Just hit the damn button already. I can’t stand you or your manipulation anymore.”_

~---~ 

Sans had been in the middle of saying goodnight to everyone, getting ready to turn in early for the day when he felt a strange sensation in his body. His head was buzzing, and it almost made his soul stop completely when he realized what was happening.

   The world was resetting.

   The feeling that he hated with a burning passion had brought him familiarity and relief. Instead of fighting against the feeling, he openly welcomed it, his mind racing with a million thoughts.

   The resets were a lot similar to the teleportation process. The world around him blurred and the same dizzying feeling came with it. All five of his senses were dulled to the point where he questioned if he was still in an acceptable state of reality. Immediately after, it had all stopped, when he felt himself drop onto his mattress in his room.

   It took him a minute to gather his surroundings after such a rush. Damn, this particular time the vertigo was too much for him. He scrambled out of his bed, his head spinning as he tried to regain his footing, but to no avail. He tripped and fell, getting tangled in his sheets, landing by one of his stray socks. The striped carpet- the maroon colored walls. There was no mistaking it.

   This was his room in Snowdin.

   Just to be sure, he used the last bit of his strength to glance out the bedroom window. A blanket of pure white snow greeted him, along with the decorative glow of Christmas lights strung up on the house. He saw two mouse children throwing snowballs at each other, and Sans swore that he almost passed out right then and there. His legs buckled from underneath him again and he crashed onto the floor. His smile grew large as he let it all sink in.

   “Thank you Frisk…Thank you.” He whispered.

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well. Looks like Frisk has changed her mind. Back in the underground we go. 
> 
> I just wanted to say that the direction of the story is changing now that the monsters aren't on the surface so I hope you don't mind too much. In fact, I'm really excited for this next arc in the story, I might just finish this fanfic with one final chapter, and make a second one continuing off of it. (35 is a good number, yeah? Plus, I have so many ideas I don't really want to cram it all into one giant story. Otherwise it'll be like 70 chapters long or something.)  
> On a side note, hope you all had a happy holiday/ new year. (Yes, I know I'm late.) :P  
> Let me know what you think about the final chapter idea. Your feedback is highly valued. :D  
> Anyways, thank you all so much for reading. I can never say it enough. Stay cool!  
> ~CB


	35. Reunited

   Immediately after Sans crashed onto the floor, his door burst open, alarming him in his moment of silence.

   “Sans? Are you alright? I heard a loud thud.” Papyrus claimed, searching for Sans on his bed. He quickly scanned the room and visibly relaxed when he saw him on the floor.

   “Uh…y-yeah. I just, lost my footing. I’m good.” Sans replied.

   “Oh. Well alright. Please be more careful next time brother.” Papyrus warned, while he turned back around and walked into the hallway. Sans was not bothering to get up from the floor anytime soon. The resets always took a toll on Sans’ body, but this time Frisk had gone back in time farther than any reset before. When he was previously stuck in the time loop, the anomaly would reset after a day or two. Sometimes a week. Now Frisk had reset after months had passed while living on the surface.

   Sans felt ill. His bones ached, and his head was throbbing. If he stood up, then he was sure he’d topple over again due to the persistent dizziness not letting up. If he recalled correctly, Papyrus and him had off today. Tomorrow they’d go back to work at their sentry stations, calibrating puzzles and hunting for humans.

   If everything went according to plan, tomorrow is when Frisk should be leaving the ruins and entering Snowdin.

   All ailments and sickness Sans felt was briefly ignored at the thought of reuniting with his baby bones. He smiled to himself, unable to contain his excitement. Even if she couldn’t remember him, that would be okay. He would start building their close relationship from the ground up if he had to.

   Then the thought of her being a genocidal maniac popped in his head. His smile quickly faded at the scary thought. What if she killed Toriel? There was no way of him checking if the door was still closed. He was going to have to trust that the anomaly hadn’t taken over.

  He shook his head, clearing away his negative thoughts. Either way, this timeline was going to be strange. It wasn’t going to be easy either. Convincing Papyrus that Frisk is harmless was one thing, but Undyne, Asgore and the rest of the population would be trying to kill her.

   Well, that’s what he was there for.

   He slowly pushed himself off the floor and carefully sat upright. The room was spinning, so he was going to have to take it slow. The vertigo usually left within the first minute, but considering the time difference, it seemed like it would be awhile before he felt one hundred percent.

   Hesitantly, he checked his own stats.

   **1/1 HP.**

He sighed heavily. At least his HP was back to normal. Well, at least as normal as it could be. He was still in danger but at least it wasn’t in the decimal places either.

   Sans attempted to stand up, but his legs were shaky, so he decided against it. Instead, he called out for his brother.

   Papyrus stuck his head in the doorway upon hearing his name.

   “Yes?”

   “Do you think…um…You could carry me to the couch downstairs?” Sans asked sheepishly.

   “Ugh, seriously?! You have two legs, you are more than capable of walking there yourself. Honestly Sans you’re so lazy sometimes.” Papyrus declined.

   “Well you see, my legs don’t want to work with me right now, and I don’t have any magic energy to teleport myself.” Sans explained with a slight grin.

   “What do you mean your legs aren’t working? What’s wrong with them?” Papyrus questioned. Sans shrugged. He couldn’t tell his brother that his body was adjusting to the reset. He couldn’t tell his brother that a reset occurred, _period._

   “I just…don’t feel good.” He vaguely answered.

   Papyrus’ disapproving frown quickly softened into a more concerned look. Sans wasn’t a monster who admitted to getting sick. He was stubborn, and most of the time he would hide any sort of illness or weakness from his brother. If he was admitting that he wasn’t feeling well, then Papyrus had a feeling that Sans wasn’t faking it just to get him to carry him.

   Papyrus sighed, but walked in and scooped up the shorter skeleton.

   “Thanks bro.” Sans piped up.

   “So besides having weak legs, anything else that’s causing you to feel unwell?” Papyrus asked while walking downstairs.

   “I’ve got a bit of a headache, but nothing _tibia-fraid_ of.”

   Papyrus groaned at his pun, and made his way towards the couch. He gently put his brother down and marched upstairs.

   “You’re very lucky you have such a good brother taking care of you. Anyone else would not have tolerated your awful puns and shenanigans.” Papyrus yelled from upstairs. Sans chuckled as he turned on the TV. When Papyrus came back, he wrapped Sans up with one of the spare blankets from the closet and sat down next to him. “In the meantime, let’s see if Mettaton is on!”

   ~---~

   A few hours later and Sans was starting to feel like his old self. Papyrus had made some of his famous spaghetti for lunch before he got ready to head to Undyne’s house for some training.

   “Are you sure you’re feeling okay brother? I can stay if you want.” Papyrus offered.

   “Nah. You go ahead and train with Undyne. I have some stuff to take care of in the meantime.”

   Papyrus was genuinely surprised by his sudden spark of motivation. Sans usually slept in his room until it was time for dinner. Even then, it took him a lot to get him out of his room in general. He was glad that his brother was taking the initiative now.

   “Well, alright…Call me if you need anything okay?”

   “Sure thing bro.”

   As soon as Papyrus left, Sans swapped out his pink sandals for some sneakers. Usually, he would not have bothered, but for some odd reason he felt the need to change them since he was in such a good mood.

   He tightened the shoelaces, zipped up his jacket, and stepped out into the chilly outdoors. He walked towards the librarby, watching quietly as bunny children played in the snow, as some adults chatted amongst themselves about Underground politics. Sans had to admit that he missed this atmosphere when they had moved to the surface.

   Once he reached the librarby, the smell of an old attic and the comforting warmth of the heaters reached his senses. Some residents greeted Sans as he quietly crept to the bookshelves. He usually came here for joke books or more quantum physics books, but this time he was here for an entirely different reason. He spotted a few books that peaked his interest, and he gathered them into a collective pile. Not wanting to stick around for too long, he decided to take his books on the go.

   He set down six books in front of the librarian, ready for them to be checked out.

   “Find everything okay?” They asked.

   “Yep.” Sans simply replied. They read the book titles as they scanned them into the computer system.

   _“Unconditional Parenting.”_

_“Raising Your Spirited Child.”_

_“Adopting the Hurt Child.”_

_“A Life Course Approach to Mental Illness.”_

_“Parenting with Love and Logic.”_

_“First Aid for the USME.”_

The librarian eyed the skeleton skeptically.

   “Thinking about becoming a father?”

   Sans rubbed the back of his head bashfully as a light blue blush spread across his cheek bones. The librarian chuckled slightly at the comic’s behavior and finished placing the books in a bag for him to carry. Without any further interruptions, the librarian handed the bag over to Sans, wishing him a nice day as he left the librarby and walked all the way home. He threw himself onto the couch and began reading.

~---~

   Sans hadn’t noticed it was getting late until his brother arrived home after his training with Undyne had finished. Sans quickly shut the book, shoving them back into the plastic bag. If Papyrus found out, there was no doubt that he would start asking questions.

   “Hey bro. How was training?” He asked nervously.

   “It went well. Undyne taught me how to put someone in a full nelson!” His brother happily replied.

   “Sounds awesome bro. Hey, I’m gonna be working on something in the lab alright? Just holler if you need anything.”

   Papyrus agreed merrily, and away Sans went, with a snap of his fingers. He teleported to the secret room, hidden behind the back of their house. It was cold and dusty, considering he hadn’t entered in a while. During the time loop, he spent his days revisiting this exact room, researching for some sort of answer to the never-ending resets. He spent hours and hours trying to comprehend what the anomaly was, or why it was making him suffer so much. He never got the answer he searched for, but he did have quite a collection of notes gathered in his drawers. Now, instead of him reading a nonfiction quantum physics book, he was picking up a guide on how to raise a kid.

   Frisk would be coming in the next few hours. The least he could do was read and catch some shut eye before she arrived. After all, he wasn’t going to have Toriel’s help with raising her if she was going to shut herself away in the ruins. Of course, Pap would be delighted in sharing the responsibility, but they were both inexperienced compared to the ex-queen. Sans knew that Frisk wasn’t a difficult kid to deal with. She knew how to take care of herself and Sans wasn’t completely clueless on how to take care of her either. She wasn’t an infant, but she still needed some guidance in her life. He was making sure that he was going to be the best damn father he could possibly be.

   …Perhaps, he was getting ahead of himself. It was still too early to tell if Frisk would truly be herself when she arrived. He glanced at his stack of books.

   Whatever outcome were to happen, Sans was ready to take it head on.

   No more games.

   ~---~

   Sans had managed to read one chapter from each book he borrowed, and eventually went to bed. He awoke with a knock on his door.

   “Wake up Sans. I feel good about today! This time we’ll catch a human for sure.” Papyrus claimed. Sans chuckled.

   _You have no idea._

With vigor, Sans jumped out of bed, putting on his sneakers and zipping up his jacket. He cracked his bones and yawned before walking out and joining his brother.

   For the first hour, Sans had followed Papyrus around, helping his bother set up traps and puzzles. It was a routine they performed before starting work, and today was no exception. Before they knew it, it was time to guard at their posts. Papyrus said a quick goodbye to Sans as he walked to his sentry station near the door to the ruins. Sans waited until his brother was out of sight before he rushed up against the door. He leaned up close to it, but heard nothing. Whether that was a good or bad sign, he was unsure.

   Silently, he walked deeper into the forest surrounding him and waited behind a tree. He was so anxious, he could barely control himself from pacing around.

   He heard the door slide open, followed by a slow ominous creaking as it slammed shut. He could see her, and his eye lights dilated at the sight of her being alive in front of him. He began to tear up but quickly wiped his eyes so he could present himself accordingly. She began to walk down the snow-covered path, occasionally glancing side to side. She was quiet, and she looked lost. Sans figured she probably didn’t remember the previous timeline, which made him feel slightly disappointed.

   He silently followed, staying in the shadows every time she turned around to check if anyone was there. Usually, he would have tried to spook her by snapping the tree branch in the pathway in half, but he couldn’t find it in himself to do it. He wanted so badly to just run up to her and hug her and never let go, but this Frisk would probably be startled or even weirded out if he did that. He decided to restrain himself and play it cool.

   When Frisk got to the bridge, Sans slowly stepped out of the shadows, letting his presence be known with the sound of his feet crunching down into the snow. Frisk whipped her head around and made eye contact with the skeleton. She looked startled.

   “Woah, hey, no need to get all rattled. I’m friendly. I won’t hurt ya Frisk.” Sans stated. Frisk’s eyes widened in shock.

   “H-how do you know my name?” She stammered. Her voice was almost a whisper. Her arms were wrapped around herself trying to maintain her body heat in the cold.

   Sans sighed, but kept his distance. Frisk was acting more timid than he remembered.

   “Well kiddo, we’ve certainly met before. You uh…probably don’t remember.” He explained. Frisk tilted her head in confusion. They’ve met? Frisk shook her head. She would have certainly remembered a talking skeleton who made puns, while wearing pink slippers.

   She fully examined him. He was wearing a blue hoodie, basketball shorts, and some sneakers. Wait…sneakers? Why did she easily picture him wearing slippers?

   “Does this place ring any bells? There’s a town up ahead- Snowdin, it’s called. Maybe we can head there and talk over some food and warmth before my brother gets here?”

   “Grillby’s.” Frisk stated matter-of-factly. That was the name of the restaurant, right? How did she know that?

   Sans was taken aback by Frisk’s newfound knowledge. She remembered something! Did that mean that the amnesia was still reversible?

   “Yeah. You remember Grillby. Flame monster? Glasses?” Sans described.

   “Black bow tie.” Frisk nodded. Sans’ smile turned into a bittersweet one. Well, she didn’t exactly remember him or Papyrus, but remembering the bartender was a start.

   “Yep. That’s him. He makes some good grub. If you want, we can head there now and grab a bite to eat?” He offered. Frisk shyly nodded at the offer.

   Sans was just about to lead her to Snowdin town when he realized he forgot something. He smacked his forehead at the thought.

   “Oh, how could I forget? You still don’t know my name.” He pointed out. He smiled and stuck out his hand for her to shake. “I’m Sans. Sans the skeleton.”

   Frisk’s heart stopped at the name. Her eyes widened as the world around her seemed to freeze in time. Sans. Sans the skeleton. She knew him. _She knew him._

   A million memories suddenly flooded into her brain, overloading her with information. Memories of him and Papyrus, and Undyne, and Alphys, and Asgore, and Toriel. All of them up on the surface. Living under the same roof. Memories of him and her spending time together. Comforting and helping each other. Up until-

   She died.

   She had died from…what? She wasn’t sure. The memories were all coming back too quickly, but they were coming in pieces. Important chunks of time were still missing, and she was left standing there, gasping in shock as she suddenly remembered why she was here, and how important this goofy looking skeleton was to her.

   “ _Sans.”_ She managed out. Sans stared at her, noticing the change in her behavior. Did she remember some more? By the looks of it, it seemed like she did. Tears began to develop in Frisk’s eyes as her mouth flew up to her gaping mouth.

   By then Sans knew that she was back.

   “ _SANS!”_ She cried out, running up to him and tackle-hugging him, nearly knocking him over. She began to sob with tears of joy, babbling incoherent thoughts.

   “Oh my _god!_ Sans! I can’t believe I’m here!” She cried while laughing. Sans hugged her tightly back, taking in the fact that he was holding his child once again. He sniffed, as a few happy teardrops streamed down his face.

   “Yeah kid. I missed you so damn much.” He mumbled.

   “Oh my god…oh my god…” Frisk repeated, her voice muffled into Sans’ jacket. She buried her face into his chest, holding him tightly. “Dad.” She choked out.

   “I’m here baby bones. Oh, Stars…I’m so glad you’re back…God I missed you…” He mumbled softly into her hair. They stayed together like that for some time, until they heard a familiar voice call out in the distance.

   “Sans? Are you sleeping on the job again?”

   It was Papyrus. Sans and Frisk separated upon hearing him. Humans and monsters were supposed to be enemies. If Sans were to find a human, it was his duty to capture it, or report it to Undyne or Asgore. He just got Frisk back, so there was no way in _hell_ he was doing either of those options. If Papyrus saw them, he would no doubt try and capture Frisk himself. Sans wasn’t necessarily afraid of that outcome, but judging by the condition that Frisk was in, she looked tired, hungry, and cold. Now was not the time to endure puzzles and japes created by Papyrus.

   “Hang on.” Sans warned Frisk as he grabbed her hand and teleported out of there.

   They blinked back into reality, feet touching white floor. It was the secret lab behind the brother’s house. Frisk physically relaxed at the averted crisis.

   “Stay here.” Sans simply said as he blinked back to his sentry station.

   He could see Papyrus marching up to him, taking large strides.

   “Any humans?”

   “Nope.” Sans lied through his teeth.

   “Alright. Keep your eye sockets open.” Papyrus told.

   “Sure thing.”

   As soon as his brother turned back and was out of sight, Sans teleported back to Frisk. She jumped, startled by his sudden appearance, but then quickly sighed at the familiar face.

   “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle ya sweet pea.” Sans apologized. In the better lighting, he could see that Frisk was a bit banged up with bruises, scrapes, and burns. “You look like you’ve been through hell.” Sans observed. Frisk nodded. The past two days had been tough. Fighting Toriel only made it worse.

   “How’s the memory?” He asked.

   “…It’s slowly coming back. There’s still a lot of things that are fuzzy…” She admitted.

   Sans nodded, understanding.

   “It might be a while until that happens. In the meantime, you still up for some Grillby’s? You must be starving huh?”

   “W-wait, but the other monsters will see me. You can’t get caught with harboring a human Sans.” Frisk rejected. Sans laughed slightly.

   “Kid, you’re worrying over nothin’. Nobody here in Snowdin knows what a human looks like. Well, besides Grillby but you already know he won’t tell a soul. You’ll be fine.”

   Frisk gave into Sans’ offer. In a split second, they zipped to the welcoming bar, and sat down for a bite to eat. There were only a few monsters there, considering all the dogs were on duty. For once, Grillby wasn’t there. He must’ve been in the kitchen preparing someone else’s order.

   “Okay Frisk. Let’s chat.” Sans sighed as they both settled in their seats. “First off…I have to know…Did you hurt any monsters before recovering your memory?”

   Frisk shook her head no.

   “I didn’t.”

   Sans relaxed a little at the statement. All monsters were still alive and well, including Toriel.

   “Good.” Sans said. “…So, where do we go from here Frisk? What’s the plan?” He wondered. Frisk shrugged her shoulders.

   “I don’t know. You guys need me to break the barrier but…” She told in a soft voice. Her eyes shifted down to the floor.

   “But?” Sans pushed.

   “…No…No, it’s not right.” She refused, trying to brush off the subject.

   “No, go ahead kid. I’m here to help.” Sans reassured. Frisk was silent for a bit before she picked up her head, making eye contact with Sans again.

   “Is it wrong of me to not want to go back to the surface?”

   Sans went silent for a moment. “…No. It isn’t.” he slowly replied. Frisk made a pained expression, conflicted with her dilemma.

   “And if I don’t, you guys will stay here. I don’t know what to do.” She admitted. Sans looked at the battered child before him. It wasn’t fair. Frisk shouldn’t have to be making this choice. It was a heavy burden to bear. Set everyone free but live the rest of your life unhappily, or stay down here trapped, along with everyone else?

   “Maybe you don’t have to make your final decision yet. Maybe you can just stay here until you’ve settled on your choice? It could be days, maybe weeks, or even months. Maybe one day after your time spent living here, you’ll want to change your mind. It’s up to you Frisk. I know you feel pressured on deciding on an option now, but it’s not like we’re on limited time. You can choose to leave at any time. And we’ll wait here as long as we need to.” He answered. His response seemed to have eased Frisk’s mind. Her worried expression slowly slipped into a more relaxed look.

   “Yeah…then…that’s what I’ll do I guess.” She mumbled.

   With perfect timing, Grillby had appeared from out of the kitchen, adjusting his bow tie before standing in front of Sans and Frisk. The flames on his head grew slightly in size, trying to cover up his shock but failing to do so when they changed into a yellowish color. He glanced from left to right, before speaking to Sans in a lowered voice.

   “Sans, is that a _you-know-what_ sitting right next to you?!” He whisper-yelled.

   “Yeah.” Sans nonchalantly answered.

   Grillby shook his head in disbelief.

   “I can’t believe you.” He muttered, running a hand through the flames of his head. “You are going to get us all in trouble.”

   “Hey, relax Grillbz. No one knows yet. She hasn’t been spotted by any royal guards. I think we’re safe for now.” He reassured.

   Grillby sighed.

   “So what’s your name kid?” He asked.

   “My name’s Frisk.” She replied quietly.

   “Well Frisk, I’m sure you already know, but my name is Grillby. This is my bar, and your pal Sans here owes me big time.” He teased. Sans shrugged. It was strange for Frisk to be introduced to Grillby again, but she simply decided to keep up the act and go with the flow.

   “How’d you meet her?” Grillby asked curiously.

   “Just found her in the woods. She was cold and alone, so here she is.” Grillby snorted.

   “Kind of strange you’d be so willing to swoop up a lost child.”

   “What did you want me to do? Leave her out there? Just hand her over to Undyne or Asgore himself?” Sans defended. Grillby glanced at Frisk, noting how worn out she looked. Her shirt and pants were baggy, covering her small body like an oversized blanket. It looked like the minor injuries on her face and collar bone hurt.

   “…Fair enough.” Grillby gave in. “Alright Frisk. You don’t seem dangerous; therefore, I won’t kick you out of my bar. You’re a quiet kid. Maybe Sans could use someone as well behaved as you.” He said taking a jab at the skeleton.

   “Oh ha, ha.” Sans laughed dryly. “Are you gonna take our orders or not?” He complained.

   Grillby smiled slightly.

   “Alright, alright. What would you like to eat?” He finally asked.

   “Hit us with a double order of burg grillbz. With extra fries for the kiddo.” He stated. Frisk nodded happily, mouth already drooling in anticipation.

   “Anything to drink?”

  “I don’t want anything. You?” Sans asked Frisk.

   “Soda?” She said unsure.

   “You got it.” Grillby confirmed, as he promptly disappeared into the back of the kitchen yet again.

   The exhaustion of Frisk’s adventure was catching up to her. The slight burns on her face didn’t hurt anymore, but she couldn’t say the same for the bruises. Moving her mouth caused the muscles surrounding the lesion to ache. Her dodging skills needed some work.

   “You alright?” He asked softly. Frisk nodded. “Don’t worry kid. The barrier’s not broken so those fries will cure you right up.”

   Frisk’s face lit up.

   “Oh yeah! I forgot about that.” She responded happily.

   When she had broken the barrier, monster magic had lost some of its strength. As Sans had just mentioned, healing items no longer worked, and instead only acted as regular food. Not only that, but monsters who were able to heal had lost the effectiveness of their power. It was still present, and they were still able to perform healing magic, but it was noticeably weaker than what they were once capable of. Now that the barrier was back, all of those negative effects didn’t apply anymore.

   Before they knew it, Grillby had whipped up their order in no time flat. He carried two baskets full of food along with Frisk’s drink and set it down in front of them to eat.

   “Thanks Grillby. I owe you.” Sans gratefully said.

   “Yes, you do.” Grillby replied coolly. He shot a small smile towards the two of them before walking back into the privacy of his kitchen. The two of them dug in as soon as the door closed behind him. Sans ate slowly, as he glanced in Frisk’s direction. She was sipping on her soda before she picked up a french fry and nibbled at it. He hadn’t noticed just how skinny she was, compared to how healthy she was during their time together on the surface.

   “Eat up kiddo. You gotta keep your strength up.” Sans encouraged in a gentle voice. Frisk nodded and ate the entire fry at once. Then she began to devour her meal in seconds. “Woooah, not too fast kid. I ain’t gonna take it away from you. You don’t want to get a stomach ache.” He quickly added.

   “Sorry. Kind of a habit.” Frisk apologized before taking a huge bite from her burger.

   Habit? What was she talki-

   Her mother.

   That’s why she was so skinny. That’s why her behavior was a little off. Frisk may have recovered her past timeline memories, but the recent memories made in this timeline were still fresh in her mind. Sans deflated at the thought of Frisk going hungry. It made it worse when he realized that he would have to start with square one with the recovery process. After all, she did try to end her life by jumping down here in the first place.

   “How long has it been since you’ve had a real meal like this Frisk?” Sans asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding worried. Frisk shrugged.

   “Well, Toriel was nice enough to bake me a pie. I only took one slice. I had a piece of monster candy too.” She answered. Sans felt a cold sweat break out on his neck. Stars, this kid doesn’t even remember when they last ate a full meal in this timeline. It made him feel sick.

   “Sans?” Frisk’s small voice called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You okay? You looked a little whiter than usual for second.”

   “Uh, y-yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Sans quickly covered up.

   “Are you gonna eat your fries?” Frisk asked hopefully. Sans stared at his basket, then back at Frisk.

   “You can have ‘em baby bones.” He offered, sighing contently. He dumped his fries into Frisk’s basket, to which she happily stuffed her face, her cheeks full of food as her mouth turned upwards into a closed smiled. Sans couldn’t help but smile back at the contagious sight. He outstretched his hand and ruffled her hair until it became messy. But Frisk didn’t care. Right now, she felt happy. Right now, she felt safe, and loved.

   And that was all that mattered to her.

   After Frisk had finished eating all of her food, she let out a tiny burp, enjoying the feeling of having a full stomach yet again. Grillby had cleared the table as Sans reached into his jacket and pulled out 150 g. He slammed it on the table as the two of them stood up from their bar stools.

   “Well Grillby, we’re gonna go now. Thanks for not snitching on us.” Sans said.

   “No problem Sans. It was nice meeting you Frisk. I really hope that you two will sort things out between the Royal Guardsmen and Asgore. It’d be a shame if my favorite customer couldn’t visit anymore.” He replied, glancing at Sans.

   Frisk smiled cheerfully and took hold of Sans’ hand. In an instant, they had teleported home. Sans and Frisk both flopped on the couch as they touched down with reality. Sans yawned and stretched his arms and legs. Papyrus wasn’t home yet.

   “Sorry about the sloppy landing. I’m exhausted. I might’ve teleported one too many times. Now I’m drained.” Sans confessed. Frisk got comfortable and leaned in closer to Sans, resting her head against his shoulder. He leaned against her in response.

   “Missed you kid.” He said again. Frisk was silent, simply taking in the nostalgic feeling she got while she sat in the skele-brother’s living room.

   “What now?” Frisk asked. Sans closed his eyes, deep in thought.

   “Hmm…well…I’m sure Papyrus is gonna be stopping by the house soon. I’ll introduce you two and I’m sure everything will go peachy as long as he doesn’t report you to Undyne himself. We could go with him, and try to convince Undyne that you aren’t a threat. That’s the hard part. She’s a lot more brutal than he is. Once we manage that, then it would be Asgore’s turn. We have to have him on our side, otherwise the whole monster population is going to want to attack you, and I am definitely _not_ letting that happen.” He reassured.

   “And then?” Frisk pushed.

   “And then…if you choose to stay down here for a little bit longer…Toriel should be coming out of the ruins around that time. Then…I don’t know. We’ll see what happens I guess.”

   Frisk nodded. She liked that plan.

   “Do you think we’ll get to save Asriel too?” She said, suddenly remembering what she said to Chara.

   Sans exhaled very slowly before answering.

   “I don’t know Frisk. Bringing monsters back to life is quite a tall order. But…you’re full of surprises. We can try.” He decided. Frisk grinned.

   “Yeah. Okay. That sounds good.” She agreed.

   And so it was settled. She was going to stay with Sans and Papyrus until she decided to go back to the surface. To be completely honest, there was nothing waiting for them there. Frisk didn’t have anyone who’d miss her, because all of her family was right here in the underground. She had everything she had only dreamed of. Friends, love, and a welcoming home. Sure, it was dangerous as of right now, but she knew that the monster population would have a change of heart, and would soon welcome her like their own. It seemed like they had a solid plan, ready to be carried out.

 Never in a million years would they have figured that their plan would be completely turned around by one monster alone.

   A monster more dangerous than Flowey himself.

   A monster forgotten by all.

   A monster, with an insatiable thirst for vengeance.

  

   End of, _“On The Surface_.”

   Next up, “ _In The Shadows.”_

  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! That concludes "On The Surface", but don't worry. A new story will be created, continuing off this one called "In The Shadows,". I'll let you guys know when that first chapter comes out. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the love and support you've shown for the story. Thank you so much for the kudos and comments and bookmarks. Thank you so much for making it this far. We've started this story in 2016 and finally finished it here in 2018. It's all thanks to you guys that I was able to push on and finish it. 
> 
> Goodbye for now my dear readers. You'll hear from me again soon! Stay cool.  
> ~CB


	36. UPDATE

   Guess who's back? :D

   Thank you all so much for waiting for the next installment of the "On The Surface Series." So without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of "In The Shadows."

   Enjoy. <3 

   [Click here to read Ch 1 of In The Shadows](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13842636/chapters/31836450)


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